US Embassy in Baghdad orders its staff to leave

SANAA, March 28 (YPA) – The US Embassy in Baghdad on Friday issued a statement confirming that the US State Department has ordered its staff in Baghdad and Erbil to leave Iraq, media reports said.

“Due to a range of security conditions and restricted travel procedures as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, the State Department has ordered the departure of US government personnel assigned to the US Embassy in Baghdad, the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, and the US Consulate General in Erbil,” the embassy said in a statement.

“Visa services in Baghdad and Erbil are still on hold,” the statement said, noting that “the US government has limited capacity to provide emergency services to US citizens in Iraq.”

“The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad remains closed to the auditors, so that US citizens in the Kurdistan region of Iraq who need emergency services can communicate via email ErbilACS@state.gov, and US citizens in various parts of Iraq can communicate via email BaghdadACS@state.gov to obtain emergency assistance,” the statement read.

“One of the measures to be taken is to leave Iraq through commercial flights as soon as possible,” the statement added.

E.M