6 Arab states to close embassies in Syria

By Rizwan Khatik - Fri Mar 16, 2:11 pm

All six  Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will close their embassies in Syria, citing the year-long violence in the country as the motive behind their decision.

the council head Abdullatif al-Zayani said early Friday that Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait took the step in protest to what it called the Syrian government’s “choosing the military option and rejecting all initiatives” to deal with the unrest.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had announced the closure of their embassies in Damascus before the collective decision. Saudi Arabia made the announcement on Wednesday while Bahrain followed suit on Thursday.

All six members of the regional council have already expelled Syrian ambassadors from their capitals.

Syria has been experiencing unrest, reportedly sponsored by Western governments and their Arab allies, since mid-March 2011.

The West and the Syrian opposition blame Damascus for the year-long turmoil, but the government says “terrorists” are responsible for the unrest, which it says is being orchestrated from abroad.

The Syrian president said on February 20 that “some foreign countries” are fueling the turmoil in Syria by supporting and funding “armed terrorist groups fighting against the government.”

MHB/MA