"This is an action to show Japan`s protest to Syria."Tokyo (ANTARA News/AFP) - Japan has told the Syrian ambassador in Tokyo to leave the country, the foreign ministry said Wednesday, as international outrage grows over brutal mass slayings blamed on the government in Damascus.
The Japanese government asked Mohamed Ghassan Al Habash to depart "as soon as possible," an official told AFP.
The move lines Tokyo up with many of its Western allies who have kicked out Syrian diplomats after expressing disgust over the massacre of civilians in Houla.
"This is an action to show Japan`s protest to Syria over not only the violence, but also the latest intense violation of human rights" the official said.
"The Japanese government made this move in coordination with other states," he said.
On Tuesday, Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States all kicked out the highest ranking Syrian diplomats in their countries in a bid to increase pressure on President Bashar al-Assad`s regime.
The coordinated envoy expulsions followed mounting international outrage over the massacre on Friday in the central town of Houla, in which at least 108 people, including 49 children, were killed, according to UN figures.
(Uu.H-AK)
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