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(Image source: : Flickr/watchsmart)
BY DANIELLE CARTER ANCHOR LAUREN GORES
Syria declared 17 diplomats “persona non grata” Tuesday, kicking them out of the
country. Fox News has more.
“Syria plunging itself into international isolation. A purge is underway, kicking out
U.S. and European diplomats saying they are no longer welcome in that country.”
The move comes a week after many of these same countries expelled their Syrian diplomats
following the massacre in Houla, Syria. The New York Times says expelling the 17 countries’
ambassadors is Syria’s payback.
“The ***-for-tat response by the Syrian government on Tuesday appeared to underscore
the largely symbolic nature of those expulsions and the determination of the President Bashar
al-Assad to maintain his course despite the increasingly chaotic nature of the 15-month-old
conflict.”
But, many of the delegates expelled were already gone. The Guardian explains.
“Most of the diplomats listed had already been withdrawn for safety reasons, but the
Syrian move was clearly intended as a signal of defiance of President Bashar al-Assad's
foreign critics.”
The BBC reports though Syria has expelled ambassadors, officials have decided to allow
aid workers from the UN into specific areas of the country.
“A UN aid official is saying the issue will be a test of the good faith of the Syrian
authorities.”
This is a unique event in Syria. Al Jazeera reports.
“This is the first time a group of humanitarian workers aside from the International Committee
of the Red Cross have been granted permission to enter Syria.”
Al Jazeera also reports, Syrian officials says the government is still committed to
the peace plan put forward by UN envoy Kofi Annan.