Syrian embassy closes Canberra doors

30 Jul 2012, 8:04 pm   -   Source: AAP
Share This
0 
+ Comment
0

Nearly two months after Foreign Minister Bob Carr expelled two Syrian diplomats, the country's embassy in Canberra has closed its doors.

RELATED

Nearly two months after Foreign Minister Bob Carr expelled two Syrian diplomats, the country's embassy in Canberra has closed its doors.

Senator Carr took the extraordinary step of expelling Syrian Charge d'Affaires Jawdat Ali and another diplomat on May 29, giving them 72 hours to leave Australia.

The expulsion order came after a massacre of more than 100 civilians in the town of Houla.

On Monday the embassy website stated "the Syrian Embassy in Canberra has closed", directing people with consular matters to the honorary consulate in Sydney. The US also expelled Syria's most senior envoy in Washington.

Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Bulgaria also moved to expel Syrian diplomats.

Civilians have been fleeing fierce fighting in Syria's most populous city, Aleppo, where the government has been staging an offensive against rebels.

The Syrian National Council, members of which Senator Carr met with last month, has accused the Assad government of preparing to carry out massacres in Aleppo.

Various media outlets are reporting that former embassy workers are seeking asylum in Australia.

Syria Uprising

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.