US asks its citizens to leave Syria

The U.S. embassy in Damascus called on citizens residing in Syria to leave the country "if possible" due to the severe crisis that has escalated with the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime at the hands of jihadist rebels.

Through a statement, U.S. diplomats reported that the situation in Syria remains "volatile and unpredictable" due to "armed conflict and terrorism" plaguing the country.

For those unable to leave Syria, the U.S. embassy urged citizens to prepare "contingency plans for emergency situations," in addition to locating places where they can seek refuge "for extended periods" should the situation escalate.

The embassy also recalled that it "cannot provide any routine or emergency consular services" after suspending its operations in 2012.

The United States is keeping a close eye on Syria following the overthrowing of al-Assad. One of the most worrying points is nuclear arsenal, since Washington, D.C., fears that it could fall into the hands of terrorists. Mike Huckabee, nominated by Donald Trump to be the next ambassador to Israel, recently warned of this possibility.

"I'm very concerned. We all should be. And it's another reason why we should be thankful that Israel went in and tried to destroy those chemical weapons, because I don't care who's in charge in Syria, nobody needs to have their hands anywhere near chemical weapons," Huckabee said a few days ago.

Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Turkey where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. In their conversation, they discussed the situation in general in the Middle East, placing greater emphasis on the situation in Syria.