| Date: 20/07/2012 Time: 08:15:00 PM |
There are currently no Austrians working at the
Austrian embassy in Syria, said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nikolaus Lutterotti
here Friday.
The Charge d'affaires and another Austrian employee had left the embassy in
Damascus in the morning on a planned rotation to Beirut, where the ambassador
is currently staying, he told Austria's official news agency, APA.
The Austrian embassy to Syria is to stay open, and will be run by local
employees, said Lutterotti, he said.
Ambassador Maria Kunz intended to return to Damascus if the security
situation permitted, he said, adding that the situation was under constant
observation.
On Wednesday, Syrian defence minister Daoud Rajha and a brother-in-law of
President Bashar al-Assad were reportedly killed by a suicide bomber in a
national security building in Damascus. |