The US Embassy in Syria urged all Americans in the country to leave on Monday, citing an ongoing “volatile and unpredictable” security situation characterized by armed conflict and “terrorism throughout the country.”
The embassy warned in a post on X that because the US mission in Damascus was closed in 2012 due to the civil war, it could not provide direct assistance and that US citizens should “prepare contingency plans for emergencies and be prepared to shelter in place for extended periods.”
“The U.S. government is unable to provide any routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Syria,” the ambassador’s office said. “U.S. citizens in Syria who are in need of emergency assistance to depart should contact the U.S. Embassy in the country they plan to enter.”
Americans attempting to cross into Jordan are advised to use the open Nabil-Jaber border crossing, and U.S. citizens with valid, unexpired US passports should be allowed to cross for limited hours.
However, US citizens with expired, missing, or damaged passports must contact the US Embassy in Amman for assistance in gaining entry into Jordan. U.S. citizens with family members who have pending immigrant visa appointments should also contact the Embassy.
“If you are in Syria, be ready to shelter in place if the situation worsens. “Ensure that you and your family have your travel documents (an unexpired US passport) in order and are ready to travel,” the US Embassy in Syria advised.
“Review your personal security plans. Keep your cellphone charged in case of an emergency. Exercise caution, keep an eye on the news for breaking developments that may have an impact on internal security, and incorporate new information into your travel plans and activities.
Americans should also prepare an emergency plan and review the United States Department of State’s Traveler’s Checklist for dealing with crises and disasters abroad.
On July 10, the State Department issued a Level 4 Do Not Travel advisory for Syria, warning of grave personal risk to US citizens from both terrorist groups and President Bashir al-Assad’s now-defunct regime.
The advisory warned that terror groups were active in Syria, with some areas experiencing an increase in bombings, IEDs, and assassinations, as well as an ongoing, countrywide risk to U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals of being kidnapped.
It also cautioned that the State Department’s ability to provide consular assistance to individuals who are injured or kidnapped, or to the families of individuals who die in the conflict, was extremely limited.
It stated that US citizens were also targeted for abduction and wrongful detention by the Assad government, warning of its aggressive tactics to suppress dissent, with protesters, activists, and political opponents routinely detained without access to legal representation and held incommunicado.
The government strongly warned private US citizens against traveling to Syria to engage in armed conflict, stating that the US government opposed it and that Americans who did so faced “extreme personal risks, including hostage-taking by armed groups, wrongful detentions, injury or death.”
“Fighting on behalf of or providing other forms of support to designated terrorist organizations, including ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliates, can constitute the provision of material support for terrorism or a foreign terrorist organization, which is a crime under U.S. law that can result in penalties including prison time and large fines,” according to the warning.
Travelers were warned that only the Assad government could issue a valid visa to enter Syria, and that failing to obtain a legitimate entry visa directly from the Syrian government could result in being held in a filthy government detention center, where “widespread cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment of detainees has been documented, as well as torture and extrajudicial killings.”
Travis Timmerman, a missing American from Missouri, was discovered outside of Damascus on Thursday, attempting to flee the country on foot with no shoes after being freed from prison by rebels who had taken the capital and deposed the Assad dictatorship.
Timmerman, who was detained by Syrian secret police for seven months after fleeing Hungary in May, claimed he was on a pilgrimage to Syria, a major center of early Christianity, when he was apprehended by border guards.
He told US and Middle East media that he had not been mistreated.
More than 100,000 people are believed to have “disappeared” under the Assad regime, including medical and humanitarian workers, journalists, human rights activists, and political opponents. Associates and relatives of these individuals were also targeted.