16/09/2011 12:32
US State Department urges US citizens in Syria to depart
The United States yesterday urged Americans to leave Syria immediately while it is still possible to travel commercially, the sources report.
“The US Department of State urges US citizens in Syria to depart immediately while commercial transportation is available,” the State Department said in an updated travel warning.
Meanwhile members of the European Parliament yesterday called for the immediate departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who, by choosing repression instead of reforms, they said had lost all legitimacy.
“The U.S. Department of State urges U.S. citizens in Syria to depart immediately while commercial transportation is available,” the travel warning reads.
In a resolution adopted in Strasbourg, the Parliament called on Mr Assad and his regime to “relinquish power immediately”.
The EU has along with the United States been calling for Mr Assad to go since mid-August.
The resolution comes as member countries move to adopt a raft of economic sanctions against the Syrian regime which could include, in addition to a ban on oil investments, a ban on funding the Syrian central bank with notes printed in Europe.