Western Powers Warn Citizens, Leave Syria Now

Western and other nations are warning their citizens to leave Syria immediately, and have issued alerts not to travel there as the security situation continues to deteriorate in the face of President Bashar al-Assad's determination to defy not only the United Nations, but even his regional neighbors at the Arab League.

The U.S. Embassy in Damascus issued a heightened to alert to all American citizens who are still in the country to leave on any commercial flight that might still be available.

The message posted on the Internet, entitled, "Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens: Significant decrease in the number of commercial flights from Syria," was grim. It included a directive to Wardens that "Transmission by phone is mandatory."

Dated Wednesday, the message urged Americans in Syria to "depart immediately while commercial transportation is available. The number of airlines serving Syria has decreased significantly since the summer, while many of those airlines remaining have reduced their number of flights."

Americans were asked to enroll in the U.S. "Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which makes it easier for the embassy/consulates to contact them in case of emergency, and for them to be in touch with the Bureau of Consular Affairs' Emergencies and Crisis.

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