U.S. Orders Partial Evacuation of Embassy in Syria, Sanctions Target 6 Officials

The United States late Monday ordered embassy family members and some non-emergency personnel to leave Syria, citing the "uncertainty and volatility" of a crackdown on protesters there.

The State Department's ordered departure, along with a travel warning telling U.S. citizens to leave the country, followed another day of violent attacks on protesters by Syrian security forces.

"The Department of State has ordered all eligible family members of U.S. government employees as well as certain non-emergency personnel to depart Syria," the statement said.

"Embassy operations will continue to the extent possible under the constraints of an evolving security situation," it added.

"U.S. citizens in Syria are advised to depart while commercial transportation is readily available," it added.

Any U.S. citizens who remain in Syria should limit nonessential travel "given the uncertainty and volatility of the current situation," the statement said.

New U.S. sanctions would have a strong symbolic element but the Wall Street Journal reported that they would not have much impact on Assad's inner circle as few regime kingpins have substantial holdings in the United States.

But should similar measures be adopted by Europe, they could have more bite, given more substantial holdings in the continent by the Assad family, the paper said, adding the U.S. move could pressure European governments for action.

An Nahar newspaper reported that the discussions are focusing on six security and military officials including members of Assad’s family: His brother Maher Assad, Head of the General Intelligence Directorate Ali al-Mamlouk and his assistant Hafez Makhlouf, the head of military intelligence, Abdel Fatah Qudsia, and his assistant Ali Younes and Chief of Air Force Intelligence Major General Jamil Hasan

Syria is already subject to American sanctions, aid restrictions and export bans, due to its presence on Washington's list of state sponsors of terrorism.

So far, Washington has not threatened to recall its ambassador to Syria, a post filled in January after a six-year absence, as Obama sought to court Damascus as part of a broader Middle East diplomatic push.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the presence of the ambassador had allowed Washington to make its stance clear to the Assad government.

"Having an ambassador in Syria has allowed us to be in Syria, basically, in the presence of the government to make our views known directly and not be a long distance (away)."

The crackdown in Syria poses a dilemma for the Obama administration, which has found its regional policy repeatedly challenged by unrest in the Middle East.

On the one hand, Washington could stand to profit from a fall of Assad's minority Alawite regime, which is allied to Shiite Iran, a longtime U.S. foe, and which wields power detrimental to U.S. goals in Lebanon.

On Friday, Obama accused Syria of blaming outsiders for its troubles, and specifically said it was seeking Iranian help to suppress its citizens.

But though it may welcome a weakening of Syrian ties to Iran, Washington also appears concerned about the uncertainty of what could follow a fall of the Assad regime amid fears of an even more radical government.

The United States had appeared to hope that eventual Syrian talks with Israel could help pave the way for a future Middle East peace compact and that Assad could be coaxed towards reform and dialogue.

Some 390 people have been killed in security crackdowns since the protests erupted, rights activists and witnesses say.