France decides to close down its embassy in Syria

French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced Friday that he was closing the French embassy in Syria over the Syrian regime's brutal crackdown on opposition strongholds. What’s happening is a scandal," Sarkozy said adding, "The city of Homs risks being wiped off the map, it's absolutely unacceptable," he said. "(Foreign Minister) Alain Juppe and I have decided to close the embassy in Syria," Sarkozy told reporters on the sidelines of a European Union summit in Brussels. The decision to close the embassy came a day after two French reporters, who had been trapped for a week in Homs by the regime's bombardment of the city, were evacuated to Lebanon, after two failed attempts. France's ambassador to Syria, who was recalled to Paris over the regime crackdown, had returned to the country last week to try to negotiate the journalists' evacuation. He was expected to return to France shortly. For his part, British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced earlier in the day the withdrawal of all British diplomats from Damascus, and the suspension of services, the British Embassy there.