Syria evacuates consulate general in southeastern Turkey

Syria Monday evacuated its consulate general in province of Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey, the semi- official Anatolia news agency reported. Syria evacuated the consulate building in Gaziantep while Consul General Mohammad Najdat Shahid refused to interview with Turkish reporters, said the report. Some of the furniture will be sent to Syrian embassy in the Turkish capital of Ankara and some of them to Consulate General in Turkey's largest city of Istanbul, said the report. Syria closed its consulate general in Gaziantep for five days at the beginning of December, but then re-opened the consulate. But it totally halted diplomatic procedures as of December 26, 2011. Turkey, once a close ally of Syria, has gradually toughened criticism on the Syrian government for its alleged crackdown on protesters, and that Turkish leaders have on many occasions called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.