warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

U.S. Orders Evacuation Of Embassies In Lebanon

Jeremy Fuster |
September 6, 2013 | 11:56 a.m. PDT

Executive Producer

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. state department issued an order Friday for all non-emergency U.S. embassy staff to evacuate Lebanon, citing "current tensions in the region" and "potential threats to U.S. Mission facilities and personnel." The department also authorized the voluntary evacuation of personnel at the U.S. Consulate in Adana, Turkey, which is the American diplomatic post  closest to the Turkish-Syrian border.

Though the evacuation warning does not directly mention Syria, the evacuation has reportedly been under consideration since President Barack Obama said last week he was considering military action against Bashar al-Assad's regime for their use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians. The warning does mention potential threats from Hezbollah, an ally of Assad, and incidents that have spilled over from Syria into Lebanon, such as shelling of villages near the Syrian border.

Shortly after the State Department's announcement, protesters gathered outside the U.S. Embassy near Beirut. The protesters held signs opposing a potential war against Syria, such as one that read, "The American Embassy is an operations room for the war on Syria." Riot police were called in, but the protest remained nonviolent. 

Read the statement from the U.S. State Department

Executive Producer Jeremy Fuster can be reached on Twitter



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.