WORLD> Middle East
Syria formally informs US of closure of its school, culture center
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-30 09:31

DAMASCUS -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned Maura Connelly, US charge d'affaires in Damascus, officially informing her of the decision of the Syrian cabinet to close a US school and a cultural center in Damascus, the official SANA news agency reported.

The ministry made the move after a deadly US cross-border raid in Abu Kamal near the border with Iraq on Sunday, killing eight Syrian civilians and wounded another.


A Syrian policeman stands in front of a door of an American school in Damascus October 28, 2008. The Syrian cabinet decided on Tuesday to close a Damascus-based American school and a US culture center in response to a deadly raid by US helicopters near the Syrian border with Iraq. [Agencies] 

It asked the charge d'affaires to take necessary measures to execute this decision by Nov. 6, SANA said.

On Tuesday, the Syrian cabinet decided to close a Damascus-based American school and a US culture center in response to the US attack.


A Syrian policeman stands in front of a door of an American school in Damascus October 28, 2008. The Syrian cabinet decided on Tuesday to close a Damascus-based American school and a US culture center in response to a deadly raid by US helicopters near the Syrian border with Iraq. [Agencies] 

Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad summoned Arab and foreign ambassadors in Damascus on Wednesday and briefed them on the developments since the US raid.

"Syria is waiting for official clarifications from the United States and Iraqi governments regarding this unacceptable breach of Syrian sovereignty before taking further steps," he was quoted as saying.

He called on the international community to defend international law and prevent the law of the jungle from being used in international relations.

The ambassadors expressed grief over the civilian victims of the aggression, denouncing this hostile act that violates international law and principles, SANA said.

Also on Wednesday, tens of thousands of angry demonstrators paraded in the streets of Abu kamal to protest the heinous US attack.

They carried banners condemning this "cowardly act" and burned American and Israeli flags amid angry shouts denouncing the aggression.

The protestors delivered several speeches in the protest, in which they stressed that the American aggression represented a flagrant violation of the international laws, calling on the international community to shoulder responsibility over American's crime against innocent civilians.

Syrian parties and civil associations are planning to stage a demonstration in Damascus on Thursday to protest the raid, according to the independent al-Watan newspaper.

The US embassy in Syria posted a notice in its website on Wednesday that "Due to increased security concerns, the US Embassy will be closed on Thursday," calling on Americans in Syria to remain alert.

The US State Department and White House refused to comment on the attack, making no confirmation or denial to the incident.

But US officials explained that the raid killed a top operative of al-Qaida in Iraq who was about to conduct an attack in Iraq, as intelligence suggested.