ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS: French President Nicolas Sarkozy says the Syrian leader has "done the irreparable" in his violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.
Sarkozy told French diplomats Wednesday that Bashar Assad's regime is "wrong to think it is protected by its own people."

The French president also expressed disappointment that the U.N. Security Council hasn't taken stronger action against Syria.

France and its allies want the council to impose an arms embargo and other sanctions on the Syrian regime and its supporters, but Russia is reluctant to go so far.
Human rights groups say more than 2,000 civilians have been killed in Syria in the crackdown on the protest movement that erupted in mid-March.