RABAT, July 16, 2012 (AFP) -
RABAT, July 16, 2012 (AFP) –
Morocco has declared Syria’s ambassador to Rabat persona non grata and asked him to leave the country, the foreign ministry said on Monday.
“Morocco has declared the Syrian ambassador to Rabat (Nabih Ismail) persona non grata and has demanded that he leave the kingdom,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The Moroccan authorities have been following with great concern the violence that Syria’s people are suffering,” it added, putting the death toll from the conflict at 20,000.
Rights activists say more than 17,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising broke out in March 2011 against the autocratic regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
On June 6, participants at a Paris meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria group decided to throw its support behind the opposition and agreed to hold their next gathering in Morocco.