U.S., French Embassies In Syria Attacked By Mob

The U.S. and French Embassies came under attack by a pro-government mob earlier today:

Syrian government supporters smashed windows at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus on Monday, raised a Syrian flag and scrawled graffiti calling the American ambassador a “dog” in anger over the envoy’s visit last week to an opposition stronghold, witnesses said.

French Embassy security guards in the capital fired in the air to hold back supporters of President Bashar Assad’s regime who were also protesting the French ambassador’s visit to the same city, Hama, in central Syria. Protesters smashed embassy windows and shattered the windshield of a diplomatic SUV outside the compound. The French flag was removed and replaced with a Syrian one.

“God, Syria and Bashar. The nation that gave birth to Bashar Assad will not kneel,” read graffiti written outside the embassy. One witness said three protesters were injured when guards beat them with clubs. The witness asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.

One would hope that most non-essential American personnel are out of the country already.

 

FILED UNDER: Middle East, World Politics, ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. John Burgess says:

    State Dept. send dependents and ‘non-emergency personnel’ out a few weeks ago. It still sucks for those who remain, though. The Embassy is old and the area to which one retreats is pretty small. The Amb. residence is about a block away. It’s a stately (for the area) old house with thick walls, but lots of windows.

    As is usually the case, local staff probably bore the brunt of these attacks.

    I think it’s probably a toss-up as to which government–Libya or Syria–is the most thuggish.

  2. John Burgess says:

    State Dept. sent dependents and ‘non-emergency personnel’ out a few weeks ago. It still sucks for those who remain, though. The Embassy is old and the area to which one retreats is pretty small. The Amb. residence is about a block away. It’s a stately (for the area) old house with thick walls, but lots of windows.

    As is usually the case, local staff probably bore the brunt of these attacks.

    I think it’s probably a toss-up as to which government–Libya or Syria–is the most thuggish.