Korea issues restrictions on travel in parts of Syria

Korea is restricting its citizens from traveling to parts of Syria, where dozens of people have been killed in anti-government protests, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

Under the Level 3 travel alert that took effect Wednesday, Korean nationals are urged to cancel or postpone traveling to Syria’s western governorates of Daraa and Latakia, the ministry said in a release.

Those staying in the two regions are advised to leave unless there is an emergency.

All other parts of Syria will remain under a lower Level 2 travel alert that advises Koreans to be “highly cautious” of their safety and to “carefully review” their travel plans there, a ministry official said.

Korea placed the Level 2 travel restraint on Syria on March 24 amid ongoing political unrest that has engulfed the Middle East and North Africa.

For Daraa and Latakia, the travel alert was upgraded to the second-highest level on a four-grade scale after dozens of protesters there were reported killed in violent government crackdowns.

There are no Koreans in the two governorates, despite there being about 150 Koreans across Syria for study, business and other purposes, the official said. No damage has been reported among them so far.

Yonhap