Syria

In light of the escalating violence and volatility of the current security situation in Syria, the Department of State has issued a Travel Warning advising U.S. citizens against travel to Syria and strongly recommending that U.S. citizens remaining in Syria depart immediately. Those who choose to remain in Syria or visit Syria despite this advice should be aware that the U.S. Embassy in Damascus suspended operations in February 2012 and therefore cannot provide protection or routine consular services to U.S. citizens in Syria. The Government of the Czech Republic, acting through its Embassy in Damascus, serves as Protecting Power for U.S. interests in Syria.

The range of consular services the Czech Republic provides to U.S. citizens is extremely limited, and those services may require significantly more processing time than at U.S. embassies or consulates outside of Syria.

The Syrian Arab Republic is ruled by an authoritarian regime dominated by the Socialist Ba'ath Party currently engaged in a full-scale civil war with the armed Syrian opposition. The Ba'ath party espouses a largely secular ideology; however, Islamic traditions and beliefs provide a religious foundation for the country's customs and practices. While the 1963 Emergency Law, which authorized the government to conduct preventive arrests and override constitutional and penal code provisions against arbitrary arrest and detention, was rescinded on April 19, 2011, the practice of arbitrary arrest and detention has not abated.

The Syrian government conducts intense physical and electronic surveillance of both Syrian citizens and foreign visitors. U.S. citizens visiting Syria should be aware that any encounter with a Syrian citizen could be subject to scrutiny by the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) or other security services. Sustained interactions with average Syrians – especially if deemed to be of a political nature – may subject that Syrian to harassment and/or detention, and other forms of repressive actions by state security elements. Furthermore, loitering or photographing of facilities or buildings or behavior deemed suspicious may result in U.S. citizens being arrested or detained by security services. Since 1979, the United States has designated Syria a State Sponsor of Terrorism due to its support for organizations such as Hizbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The combination of terrorist organizations, a porous border with Iraq and long-standing border issues with all of its neighbors (Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and Israel) have made Syria a destabilizing factor in the region and a potential target for reprisal. Read the Department of State’s Human Rights Report, Trafficking in Persons Report, International Religious Freedom Report, Fact Sheet on U.S. Relations with Syria, and Department of State's Syria page for additional information.

Since September 2014, the United States and other countries’ militaries have been involved in military strikes on Syrian territory.