UK Government orders evacuation of all British diplomats from strife-torn Syria

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, has ordered the evacuation of all British diplomats from Syria and closed the UK embassy in Damascus because of mounting security threats as the situation on the ground in the strife-torn country is getting from bad to worse.

• The risks facing British personnel in the country were such that the Foreign Office judged they could no longer continue their work in safety.

• Simon Collis, the ambassador, and his staff left the country on Wednesday. A key concern was that unrest might spread in Damascus itself, where protests against President Bashar al-Assad have become regular occurrences in many suburbs.

• Mr Hague’s decision will deepen Syria’s diplomatic isolation: America and six Gulf Arab countries all closed their embassies or withdrew their ambassadors last month. France also pulled out its ambassador for consultations, although he has since returned.

• The steady closure of missions means that the premium attached to having a functioning embassy in Syria is all the greater.

• Last year, the embassies of France and America, along with those of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, were all attacked by mobs loyal to Mr Assad’s oppressive regime.

•  The Foreign Office stressed that Mr Hague’s decision was taken on security grounds alone and was not intended as a further diplomatic protest. Britain has not formally severed diplomatic relations with Syria.

• But the Foreign Office said there was no plan to close the Syrian embassy in Britain, which continues to operate in London’s Belgrave Square.

• Syrian forces have reportedly seized control of a rebel stronghold during a ground invasion in the city of Homs. A spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said they have received unconfirmed reports of a series of executions involving 17 people in the neighborhood of Baba Amr after the Syrian army took over.

• The Syrian government has now granted permission for aid groups to travel to the area, which had been isolated during a month-long siege. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Syrian Red Crescent are expected to arrive in Baba Amr today bearing food and medical supplies.

• They also plan to evacuate some of those wounded in the attacks. A Red Cross spokesperson announced the group’s effort to reach Homs.

• Meanwhile, the French journalists Edith Bouvier and William Daniels have escaped from Homs to Lebanon with the aid of Syrian rebels. Bouvier was wounded in the attack late last month that killed two other journalists. France and Britain have announced plans to close their embassies in Syria, following the United States.

• The Assad regime continues to come under criticism at the United Nations. On Thursday, the U.N. Human Rights Council passed a measure condemning Syria for “widespread and systematic violations of human rights.” The Security Council meanwhile has unanimously passed a measure expressing “deep disappointment” over Syria’s refusal to admit U.N. humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos and “[deploring] the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation” on the ground.

• The measure passed with the support of Russia and China, who had previously vetoed a resolution critical of the Assad regime. Acting U.N. Security Council president, Mark Lyall Grant of Britain, read out the council’s statement.

• He affirmed: “The members of the Security Council deplore the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation—in particular, the growing number of affected civilians, the lack of safe access to adequate medical services, and food shortages, particularly in the areas affected by fighting and violence, such as Homs, Hama, Daraa and Idlib.
  
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• The members of the Security Council call upon the Syrian authorities to allow immediate, full and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel to all populations in need of assistance, in accordance with international law and guiding principles of humanitarian assistance.”