Britain Withdraws Diplomatic Staff from Syria Citing Security Concerns
Britain has withdrawn its diplomatic staff from Syria because of a growing risk to their safety, Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Thursday.
British diplomats left Syria on Wednesday and will return to Britain soon, he said in a written statement to parliament.
"I wish to inform the House that I have taken the decision on security grounds to suspend the services of the British Embassy in Damascus and to withdraw all diplomatic staff," Hague said.
Britain has maintained an embassy in Damascus since President Bashar Assad's forces began cracking down on anti-regime protests that erupted in March last year, but Hague said the security situation had worsened.
"We now judge that the deterioration of the security situation in Damascus puts our Embassy staff and premises at risk, and have taken the decision to withdraw staff accordingly," he said.
"Our ambassador and diplomatic staff left Syria on 29 February and will return to the UK shortly."
The United States closed its embassy in the Syrian capital on February 6 and the Polish embassy now provides limited consular services to U.S. citizens in the country.
The British decision came as Syrian ground troops launched a ground assault on a rebel-held district of the besieged city of Homs after shelling it for 26 days, activists said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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