Poland Pulls Diplomats from Syria, Ending U.S. Presence

Poland said it evacuated its embassy staff from Damascus Friday, cutting short its diplomatic work on behalf of the United States which pulled out its own diplomats in February.

Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski "decided to indefinitely close the Polish Republic's embassy in Damascus including the United States section as of July 27," his ministry said in a statement.

"All Polish diplomats left Syria safely and are returning to Poland," it said.

The move comes amid a dramatic escalation in the 16-month conflict, with fears of a major onslaught by regime troops against rebel fighters in Syria's largest city Aleppo.

Tens of thousands of people have fled Syria to escape the violence, which the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says has killed more than 19,000 people including women and children since March 2011.