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Date: July 30 2012
The Syrian embassy has quietly closed its doors, months after two of the war-ravaged nations diplomats were booted out of the country.
Syrian officials in the Sydney consulate have refused to comment tonight, but the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the O’’Malley embassy was shut late last month.
The embassys phone line is disconnected, and the website says it is closed and is redirecting all consular matters to its Sydney consulate.
The closure comes nearly two months after Foreign Minister Bob Carr expelled two senior Syrian diplomats.
Syrian Charge d’’Affaires Jawdat Ali and another diplomat were given 72 hours to leave the country in late May.
It also comes after the embassy was trashed in a raid in early February.
Fighting between rebels and forces loyal to the Syrian regime has intensified around the northern city of Aleppo.
The United Nations has said the fighting around the city, now in its third day, has displaced some 200,000 civilians, creating a potentially significant humanitarian crisis.
The Syrian government approached the Australian government to inform it of the closure on June 5, according to a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman.
The spokeswoman said the embassy had shut on June 29. She said it was a decision taken by the Syrian government, and not by Australia.
‘’The remaining diplomats left Australia on Tuesday , June 26,” the spokeswoman said.
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