The United States urged Americans in Syria to leave the country on Monday, Dec. 16, after the fall of the Assad regime earlier this month. The U.S. government warned the situation in Syria has become “volatile” and “unpredictable” with acts of violence and “terrorism” in the aftermath of a bloody civil war.
The U.S. instructed citizens unable to get out to “be prepared to shelter in place” for long periods. Officials added the U.S. government can “not provide any routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Syria.”
The United States also noted the U.S. Embassy in Damascus suspended its operations in 2012 and advised American citizens to contact the “U.S. Embassy in the country they plan to enter.”
Dictator Bashar Assad’s rule ended just over a week ago. He has been reportedly granted asylum in Moscow after he was overthrown by Syrian rebels.
The warning to Americans also comes as a more widespread conflict plays out.
Israeli airstrikes targeting missile warehouses along Syria’s coast rocked the region on Monday in what officials called the “most violent strikes” in more than a decade.
While rebels control much of Syria, the territory remains divided among different militant groups backed by foreign countries, including the United States and Turkey.
