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                     US Suspends Syrian Embassy Operations

   The United States has told the Syrian government to immediately suspend
   operations at its embassy in Washington and two honorary consulates.
   White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday that Syrian diplomats who
   are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents must leave the country.
   "Following the announcement that the Syrian embassy suspended its
   provision of consular services and in consideration of the atrocities
   the Assad regime has committed against the Syrian people, we have
   determined it is unacceptable for individuals appointed by that regime
   to conduct diplomatic or consular operations here in the United
   States."
   Secretary of State John Kerry highlighted the number of people killed
   and forced from their homes by three years of fighting, including
   "people attacked by their own government with gas."
   "We just felt that the idea that this embassy is sitting here with
   representation, that we could take seriously, is an insult. And we
   closed it. It`s that simple. And we`ll see what happens in other
   places, but the Assad regime can never regain legitimacy in Syria.
   Whether they win, don`t win, they can`t regain legitimacy."
   New U.S. special envoy for Syria Daniel Rubinstein said the U.S. wants
   to maintain diplomatic relations with the state of Syria as an
   expression of longstanding ties with the Syrian people, something he
   said will endure "long after Bashar al-Assad leaves power."
   Meanwhile, Israel says its air force bombed Syrian military positions
   Wednesday in response to an attack on its forces in the Golan Heights.
   The targets included an army training facility, military headquarters
   and artillery batteries.
   The Israeli military said an explosive device targeting its forces
   injured four soldiers on Tuesday. A spokesman called the blast "an
   unacceptable escalation of violence from Syria" and vowed that Israel
   would not tolerate threats to its forces.
   Two weeks ago, Israeli troops shot two fighters from Lebanon`s
   Hezbollah near the fence dividing Israeli and Syrian-held areas of the
   Golan. The Israeli army said they had been trying to plant a bomb near
   the barrier.
   Israel captured the Golan from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in
   a move not recognized internationally. The strategic plateau has seen
   occasional spillover violence from the Syrian civil war.
   In Geneva, United Nations investigators said Tuesday they have added to
   their list of suspected war criminals from both sides in the Syrian
   civil war after a new round of atrocities in recent weeks.
   Lead investigator Paulo Pinheiro said the U.N. inquiry has identified
   military units and security agencies as well as insurgent groups
   suspected of committing abuses.
   He said a newly drafted `perpetrators list` includes the names of
   intelligence branches and detention facilities where detainees are
   tortured, military commanders who target civilians, officials
   overseeing airports from where `barrel bomb` attacks originate, and
   leaders of armed groups who attack civilians.
   It is the most specific information revealed thus far about the
   identities of suspected war criminals on the list.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-suspends-syrian-embassy-operations
   /1874283.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-suspends-syrian-embassy-operations/1874283.html