Saudi Arabia has shut down its embassy in Syria and has withdrawn all its staff and diplomats, al-Arabiya reported citing a statement by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry.
The statement, which was made public by the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday, said the decision had been made “due to the developments in Syria.”
Saudi Arabia is among several Gulf Arab states that lead efforts to bring down the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and called for arming the Syrian opposition to help it win the fight against the government troops.
A number of Arab and Western countries, including the United States and Great Britain, have already closed their diplomatic missions in Syria as increasingly ferocious attacks by the government forces continue across the country.
The Syrian opposition confirmed on Wednesday that its strongholds in the northwestern city of Idlib had fallen on Tuesday night after a four-day assault by government forces.
According to UN estimates, more than 7,500 people have lost their lives in Syria since the outbreak of an uprising against Assad regime a year ago.
The bloodshed has provoked an international outcry, with human rights groups blaming the Syrian government for its crackdown on civilian protesters. The Assad regime insists it has been fighting “armed gangs” and “terrorists” affiliated with al-Qaeda.
