U.S. embassy close in Syria due to violence

The United States announced today it was closing its embassy in Syria due to the worsening security situation, further isolating Damascus over its bloody crackdown on anti-government protests.

• The State Department, which warned late last month that it would close the embassy unless security concerns were addressed, said it had suspended embassy operations and withdrawn all embassy personnel including Ambassador Robert Ford.
• The U.S. decision to close its Damascus embassy comes after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution backed by the United States and its European and Arab allies which would have endorsed an Arab League plan calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to give up power.