Pakistan has advised its nationals to avoid unnecessary travel or visit to Syria as the country is facing a dire situation amid advance by rebels in many cities. The Pakistan government’s advisory came as Syrian government forces have lost control of Daraa city, the third after Aleppo and Hama, in another stunning blow for President Bashar al-Assad's rule. The US State Department said American citizens in Syria should immediately leave the country “while commercial options remain available”.  “The security situation continues to be volatile and unpredictable with active clashes between armed groups throughout the country.

The Department urges US citizens to depart Syria now while commercial options remain available,” the State Department said in a security alert posted on social media Friday. In a statement released in Islamabad, the Foreign Office said “In view of the recent developments and evolving situation in Syria, Pakistan nationals are advised to avoid unnecessary travel or visit to Syria until the situation improves.” The Foreign Office further said “Those currently in Syria are advised to exercise extreme caution and remain in contact with the Embassy of Pakistan in Damascus.” Syrian government forces have lost control of Daraa city, a war monitor said, in another stunning blow for President Bashar al-Assad's rule after rebels wrested other key cities from his grip.

Daraa was dubbed "the cradle of the revolution" early in Syria's civil war, after activists accused the government of detaining and torturing a group of boys for scribbling anti-Assad graffiti on their school walls in 2011. While Aleppo and Hama, the two other main cities taken from government control in recent days, fell to an Islamist-led rebel alliance, Daraa was taken by local armed groups, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "Local factions have taken control of more areas in Daraa province, including Daraa city. They now control more than 90 percent of the province, as regime forces successively pulled out," the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources around Syria, said late Friday.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)