The U.S. suspended operations at the Syrian Embassy and consulates on Tuesday, ordering all Syrian diplomats to leave the country. However, the U.S. did not sever all diplomatic ties, maintaining its relations with the Assad government, arguing that U.S. recognition of the Assad government holds him accountable under international law. 

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The decision comes on the third anniversary of the Syrian civil war, as a reminder of U.S. anger and frustration at President Assad’s refusal to step down, and over the “atrocities the Assad regime has committed against the Syrian people.” 

Syria’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., and its two consulates in Troy, Michigan, and Houston, Texas, had already suspended consular services as of Tuesday. 

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