U.S. considers closing embassy in Syria due to unrest

[News_Editor]

U.S. considers closing embassy in Syria due to unrest

2012-01-21 05:54:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) -- The U.S. government is considering to close its embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus unless immediate steps are taken to ensure the safety of personnel at the compound, U.S. officials said on Friday.

The news comes just over a week after the U.S. State Department ordered a further reduction in staffing of the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, leaving only a handful of people working with Ambassador Robert Ford. Shutting down the compound would effectively cut remaining diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Syria has been part of the wider Arab Spring movement which began in early 2011 and has been riddled by violence ever since. Pro-democracy demonstrations have spread across the country since mid-March, resulting in a fierce government crackdown which has left at least 5,400 people killed.

But unrest has spread to Damascus which was the scene of three deadly suicide bombings in recent weeks. At least 26 people were killed and more than 60 others were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a school in the al-Midan neighborhood of Damascus on January 6. It followed two suicide bombings which targeted Syrian government buildings on December 23, killing 44 people and injuring 166.

"While no decision has been made, we have serious concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Damascus, including the recent spate of car bombs, and about the safety and security of embassy personnel," a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said on Friday afternoon. "We have requested that the government of Syria take additional security measures to protect our embassy, and the Syrian government is considering that request."

The spokesperson warned that it will be forced to close the embassy if the Syrian government does not take immediate action. "We have also advised the Syrian government that unless concrete steps are taken in the coming days we may have no choice but to close the mission," the spokesperson said.

In October 2011, the U.S. Embassy in Damascus was designated an unaccompanied post with restricted staffing. Earlier this month, the U.S. government decided to further reduce the number of employees present in Damascus, and ordered a number of employees to depart Syria as soon as possible.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-01-21

[Steely Dan]

Syria is a satellite state of Iran, and look at their record with embassies. Perhaps it's wise to evacuate the embassy staff unless Obama wants to emulate Carter in yet another way.

[Credo]

It is pretty routine to evacuate embassy staff in situations which are deemed too dangerous for normal operations. First family and dependents leave and if things don't look set to improve, then everyone else is evacuated.

Good idea to do that before we have pictures such as the ones of the evacuation of the Embassy in Saigon.