With violence in Syria escalating by the day, India Tuesday said it has
asked the staff of its embassy in Damascus and its other citizens to
leave the West Asian country.
Indian ambassador V.P.Haran is in
touch with resident Indians and has asked them to leave the country,
Syed Akbaruddin, the external affairs ministry spokesperson, told
reporters here.
The staff of the Indian mission have already been asked to leave, he said.
There
were around 900 Indians in Syria when violence started exacerbating
nearly three months ago, but now barely 100 Indians are still left
behind.
Of the 100, 13 are staff of the Indian mission in Damascus. Every Indian has been advised to leave, the spokesperson said.
In view
of sharply escalating violence between government forces and opposition
activists in Syria, the hub of 17-month-old pro-democracy protests,
India had issued a travel advisory July 20 to its citizens to avoid all
travel to that country.
India's decision to get its citizens and
mission personnel evacuated comes amid reports that Syria is heading for
a civil war with pro-democracy protestors and regime forces locked in a
fierce combat and the Western powers tightening an embargo to hasten
the ouster of President Bashar Al Assad.
The situation is
assuming frightening proportions as Syrian officials warned Monday that
they would deploy chemical weapons against any foreign intervention.
Last
week, India was among the 11 countries that voted on a UN Security
Council resolution that sought new sanctions against the Assad regime,
but Russia and China vetoed the resolution.
India called the failure of the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution on Syria "regrettable."
India asks its citizens, mission staff to leave Syria
