Ambassador Imad Moustapha called back to Syria

Ambassador Imad Moustapha called back to Syria

In an interesting news development coming out of Washington, the Syrian Embassy has confirmed that the Syrian Ambassador to the US, Imad Moustapha, will be heading back home. The news was confirmed on Tuesday, October 25. The person of interest will be travelling to Damascus to receive further instructions on his current role.

“Ambassador (Imad) Moustapha is already recalled to Damascus for consultations,” said a spokesperson for Syria’s embassy in Washington

The official Al Ikhbariya television network reported the development early on and it gave an indication as to why the ambassador is being called back.

“Syria’s ambassador to the United States, Imad Mustapha, will leave Washington for Damascus to hold consultations with Syrian leaders,” the report said.

The move represents a sign of uncertainty in relations between the Syrian government and the American government. The US embassy had earlier reported on Monday that its ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, was being called back due to ‘credible threats’ against the representative.

“Ambassador Robert Ford is on leave indefinitely. Washington decided to give him the leave out of concerns about his personal safety,” the embassy official reported.

Another confirmation on that news came from a more credible source, later on Monday.

“Ambassador Robert Ford was brought back to Washington as a result of credible threats against his personal safety in Syria,” said U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

Many experts believe that Ford was openly critical of President Bashar Assad’s tactics in quelling the civil unrest, flared across Damascus and other regions of the country. The pro-government demonstrators have accused Ford for inciting violence in the region. The United Nations has reported that over 3,000 people have been killed in the clashes between the opposition and the current regime.

Ford has been confirmed to have visited anti-government rallies in support of the opposition. Earlier last month, the US ambassador and his Embassy co-workers were attacked by pro-government supporters, following his visit to the opposition leader.

There are heightened tensions between the US and the Syrian government. Moustapha was called after the ambush attack on Ford, by the US to answer for the incident. Victoria Nuland, a representative of the US State Department said that he was ‘read the riot act’.

Such tensions have caused concerns in the region and the move to call the Syrian Ambassador back home, maybe perceived as a an act to reorganize the country’s position in the Syrian Embassy.

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Posted by Zuhaib Gull on Oct 25 2011. Filed under Latest News, Middle East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry