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FCO: Change to travel advice for Syria

15th April 2011 The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office have released the following update:

We now advise against all travel to the coastal areas of Syria north of (but not including) Tartous city up to the border with Turkey.

We continue to advise against all but essential travel to the whole of Syria, and against all travel to the southern city of Der'aa and the surrounding towns and villages (including Tafas and Sanamiyn), the town of Douma and the cities of Baniyas and Latakia. Please read our travel advice for full details of the areas affected.

This is because of continuing disturbances in urban centres across the country, and reports of live gunfire by security forces resulting in a number of deaths.

British nationals resident in or visiting Syria are strongly encouraged to register with us. You can do this by:

Registering on our LOCATE online registration service
Calling 011 373 8299 from Syria or +44 (0) 207 008 6900 from the UK
Emailing British.EmbassyDamascus-ConsularEnquiries@fco.gov.uk
If you are calling from Syria and encountering problems getting through, please call the UK number.

Speaking on 12 April, Minister for Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt said:

"In light of the deteriorating security situation in Syria we have decided to change the overall level of our travel advice: we now advise against all but essential travel to Syria. This will take immediate effect.

"The safety of British Nationals is always our primary concern. We recommend that those in Syria exercise caution and maintain a high level of security awareness, particularly in public places and on the roads, and avoid large crowds and demonstrations."

Links:
FCO Syria travel Advice
FCO Locate Service
UK in Syria

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