Syria condemns 'hostile' France as violence rages

Syria criticized France on Sunday for “acting like a hostile nation” after Paris agreed to host a new ambassador for the opposition National Coalition. The rebuke comes as fighting continues to rage across the war-torn country.

Syria on Sunday slammed as "hostile" a French decision to host an ambassador from the opposition National Coalition, as regime forces bombarded southern districts of the capital and clashes raged nationwide.

France on Saturday invited the group to send an envoy to Paris, after President François Hollande met National Coalition leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib.  "France is acting like a hostile nation," National Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar told AFP in key ally Tehran. "It's as if it wants to go back to the time of the occupation," he added, of the French mandate in Syria after World War I.

Coalition chief Khatib in Paris on Saturday repeated the group's promise to build a government of technocrats. "There is no problem. The coalition exists and we will launch a call for candidates to form a government of technocrats that will work until the regime falls," he told reporters. But he appeared to make little progress on his call for the West to arm the insurgency.

"The (rebel) Syrians need military means but the international community also has to exercise control," Hollande said, acknowledging that France could not act without EU agreement because of the strict embargo on arms deliveries to Syria.

Read more: Syria condemns 'hostile' France as violence rages - SYRIA - FRANCE 24