Obama: Crackdown in Syria is 'Horrifying'

In this photo taken July 22, 2011, President Barack Obama makes a statement in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on the break down of debt ceiling talks. "We might as well do it now," Obama admonished, urging Congress to buckle down to the task. "Pull off the Band-Aid, eat our peas." he said in an apt metaphor, one in a spiral of rhetorical one-upmanship that has had all sides stretching for new analogies and catchy one-liners to sway public opinion. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (AP)

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is stepping up his criticism of Syria's crackdown on protesters, charging that the Syrian president is "completely incapable and unwilling" to respond to what Obama calls the legitimate grievances of the Syrian people.

Dozens of people were reported killed Sunday as Syrian security forces escalated their response to protests against President Bashar Assad. In the city of Hama, a barrage of shelling and gunfire left bodies scattered in the streets.

Obama issued a statement Sunday saying he is "appalled" by the violence and brutality the Syrian government has aimed at its own people. He calls the reports from Hama "horrifying" and says they demonstrate the true character of the Syrian regime.

Obama says the U.S. will continue to increase pressure on the Syrian regime.