Lamia Shakkour, Syrian envoy to France, denies resigning from post

Syria's ambassador to France, Lamia Shakkour, denied resigning from her post Wednesday, according to news reports.

A woman identifying herself as Shakkour called the French television news channel France24 Tuesday and said she resigned in response to her government's brutal crackdown on demonstrators.

"I have informed the president's private secretary that it is my intention to tender my resignation to President Bashar al-Assad," the woman said, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. "I cannot support this cycle of violence."

However, Syrian state television quickly aired an audio tape of Skakkour denying the resignation.

And then on Wednesday, Shakkour appeared on BFM TV, another French channel, and insisted that the France24 woman was not her. She said the move was an attempt to embarrass Syria, reports the New York Times.

"Naturally, I will bring a lawsuit to condemn France24 for its acts of disinformation, which are part of a campaign of falsification of information and disinformation which began in March 2011 against Syria," she said on television. 

The resignation episode came as France stepped up its pressure for a UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria for the violence.

Syria's crackdown on demonstrators has left hundreds of dead.

No Syrian ambassadors have resigned since the uprising has gripped the country. Shakkour would have been the first.