US slaps travel restrictions on Syrian diplomats

WASHINGTON: The United States said Wednesday that travel restrictions had been placed on Syrian diplomats living in Washington, in a tit-for-tat measure after a similar move by Damascus earlier this month.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said it was "usual practice to match restrictions" put on US diplomats "with similar restrictions," after Syria slapped travel bans on Washington's envoys amid the increasingly violent crackdown on dissent in the country.

The Syrian embassy in Washington is henceforth "required to obtain the Department of State's approval prior" to its diplomats or visiting officials travelling outside the metropolitan area, she said.

The US ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, has been barred from leaving Damascus after infuriating the regime of President Bashar al-Assad for visiting the sites of the most brutal crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters.

Washington has meanwhile joined international calls for an end to the violence, which has left more than 2,150 people dead, including more than 400 members of the security forces, according to rights activists.

The State Department has issued a travel warning that urges any US citizens still in the country to depart Syria "immediately."

Pro-government demonstrators have attacked both the US and French embassies in Damascus, smashing windows and spray-painting walls after Ford and his French counterpart visited the flashpoint protest city of Hama. (AFP)