Former President Bill Clinton believes the worsening situation in Syria is similar in some respects to one he faced early on in the Bosnia crisis in the 1990s, and said a way must be found to stop the violence.

In an interview with CNN, Clinton said he sympathised with President Barack Obama whose administration has resisted any US military intervention to halt the bloodshed.

Clinton said he believes the world "would come rushing to help Syria" if Assad left but said it was "very difficult" for the US to act alone.

"We have to respect the constraints that are now on the president and our government," Clinton said, noting that the
situation in Syria was similar to the one he faced when violence flared in the former Yugoslav Republic.

"We're in this place in Syria where I was with Bosnia in 1993 and 1994. It took us two years," Clinton said, adding that he was determined to intervene but could not do it alone. [Reuters]