US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has issued an unusually sharp call to embattled Syria President Bashar Al-Assad to step down amidst violence escalating in his country.

According to Clinton, there is no doubt Syria's opposition forces are growing more effective and the only chance to avoid further bloodshed is a handing down of power by Assad.

"The sooner there can be an end to the violence and a beginning of a political transition process, not only will fewer people die but there is a chance to save the Syrian state from a catastrophic assault that would be very dangerous not only to Syria but to the region," said Clinton during a visit to Japan Sunday.

The US Secretary of State did not specify from whence the assault would come, but she was interpreted by agencies to refer not to an outside intervention, but rather to a full-scale campaign by the Syrian opposition against state institutions.

"There is no doubt that the opposition is getting more effective in their defence of themselves and in going on the offence against the Syrian military and the Syrian government's militias. So, the future should be abundantly clear to those who support the Assad regime," explained Clinton.

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