6 December 2011 Last updated at 11:02 ET

US ambassador Robert Ford to return to Syria

The US ambassador to Syria, who was removed from the country after threats to his safety, is due to return, US state department officials have said.

Robert Ford left the Syrian capital, Damascus, in late October.

He had angered Syrian authorities by showing solidarity with activists involved in an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

News of his return came as the US secretary of state met with Syrian opposition leaders in Geneva.

Hillary Clinton said that democratic transition in Syria meant more than removing Mr Assad.

She said that the country - where the UN estimates that more than 4,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the uprising in March - must head towards the rule of law.

A senior US state department official told reporters that Mr Ford was expected to leave for Damascus later on Tuesday.

"Ambassador Robert Ford has completed his consultations in Washington and is returning to Damascus this evening," the unnamed official said.

Mr Ford left Syria on 24 October as the government crackdown on protesters and a nascent armed insurgency against Mr Assad intensified.

In return, Syria recalled its own envoy in Washington.

An Arabic-speaker who has served in several Arab countries, Mr Ford had expressed solidarity with protesters as well as denouncing Syria's crackdown on its opponents.

He originally arrived in Damascus in January as the first US ambassador to Syria for more than five years.