OTTAWA - Syria's top diplomat in Canada says sanctions imposed by the Harper government are hurting innocent civilians in his country.
Bashar Akbik, Syria's charge d'affairs, makes that accusation in an interview with The Canadian Press.
The United Nations human rights chief, Navi Pillay, has told the General Assembly that Assad's regime has likely committed crimes against humanity.
But Akbik strongly denies his government is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians in what is now an 11-month uprising.
He blames terrorists and criminals for the violence and says a Western-led conspiracy to overthrow his government is behind the violence the U-N says has killed more than 54-hundred people.
The envoy says the violent videos that show atrocities against civilians are "Hollywood things" concocted by Syria's enemies.
