Bashar al-Assad denies ordering a deadly crackdown on protesters

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denied ordering a deadly crackdown on protesters and disputed a United Nations estimate of the number of civilians killed in Syria's nine-month-long uprising, striking a fresh tone of defiance as Damascus faces deepening international isolation, the Washington Post reports.

"There is no command to kill or be brutal," Mr. Assad said in an ABC television interview airing Wednesday in the U.S. The Syrian leader said some officials had made mistakes, but there was no "policy to crack down."

The comments came as Arab countries, which have penalized Mr. Assad for the crackdown through the Arab League, and Syria's neighbor Turkey are deliberating further isolating Syria's ruling regime.

Turkey last week joined Arab sanctions on Damascus. The Arab League has threatened to follow through with a second round of penalties—including sanctions on Syrian officials and flight restrictions between Arab countries and Syria—if Damascus fails to sign on to an Arab plan meant to end the violence, the source reports.