Saudi Arabia closes mission in Syria
Embassy in Damascus shut, all diplomats withdrawn.
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia has shut down its embassy in Syria and has withdrawn all its staff, the Saudi foreign ministry announced on Wednesday in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.
"Due to the developments in Syria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has shut down its embassy in Damascus and withdrawn all its diplomats and staff there," read the statement.
Saudi Arabia, which has repeatedly pressed for world action against Damascus and called for rebels to be armed, was one of six Gulf monarchies to expell Syria's ambassadors and withdraw their own in February.
Last week, the US had closed its embassy in Syria.
At least 8,500 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since the uprising against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.
Saudi Arabia has shut down its embassy in Syria and has withdrawn all its staff, the Saudi foreign ministry announced on Wednesday in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.
"Due to the developments in Syria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has shut down its embassy in Damascus and withdrawn all its diplomats and staff there," read the statement.
Saudi Arabia, which has repeatedly pressed for world action against Damascus and called for rebels to be armed, was one of six Gulf monarchies to expell Syria's ambassadors and withdraw their own in February.
Last week, the US had closed its embassy in Syria.
At least 8,500 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since the uprising against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.