WH: Assad will be remembered as among 'the worst tyrants of his era'

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- History will record Syrian President Bashar Assad as "one of the worst tyrants of his era," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

The United States and other allies will maintain their support to the opposition to Assad, stressing the president would be removed from power eventually, Carney said Tuesday during a media briefing.

"The Syrian people will not stand for it, and the Syrian opposition and the military opposition will continue to resist Assad and resist with the assistance of the United States and many partners and allies in the effort," he said.

Because Assad receives support from other "bad actors" in the region, "it is so important that the United States and our allies and our partners provide the assistance that the opposition needs to strengthen itself and so that it can withstand the Assad forces and the Hezbollah and Iranian-backed forces," Carney said.

Assad "will now go down in history as one of the worst tyrants of his era and with just a terrible amount of blood on his hands, the blood of his own people," Carney said.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights, based in London, said it documented 131 deaths Tuesday, including nine children. The U.N. has estimated the death toll in the more than 2-year-old conflict at more than 100,000.

The United States believes it is essential to provide assistance to the opposition and the military council, as well as humanitarian assistance to the displaced Syrians, Carney said.

The U.N. Children's Fund and its partners Tuesday delivered supplies to help thousands of children in Aleppo, one of the areas most affected by the Syrian conflict, UNICEF said.

"The humanitarian situation in Aleppo is desperate," UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Yoka Brandt said. "Our goal is to reach children who most need our assistance, no matter where they are."

The delivery, a joint effort of UNICEF, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other U.N. agencies, was a 15-truck convoy that brought supplies such as diarrheal disease kits to treat 30,000 people, medical kits for 20,000 people, 2,000 family hygiene kits, cooking stoves, high energy biscuits and school supplies.

Since fighting began in March 2011, the United Nations estimates 100,000 people have been killed, nearly 2 million have fled to neighboring countries and 4 million people have been internally displaced.