Assad must go, US says, as Syrian war enters fifth year

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday renewed its call for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, marking the fourth anniversary of the civil war by paying tribute to "the brave Syrians" fighting tyranny.

"For four years the Assad regime has answered Syrians' calls for freedom and reform with unrelenting brutality, authoritarianism and destruction," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.