Due to specific indications of a potential planned terrorist attack, Germany’s acting Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and her Austrian counterpart Gerhard Karner have canceled their scheduled trip to Syria on March 27.
A German Air Force plane was set to transport the acting minister and her delegation from Jordan to Damascus this morning.
Faeser had planned to meet with two ministers from the transitional government and representatives of UN humanitarian organizations in Syria. However, due to signs of a “terrorist threat,” the trip has now been called off.
“Due to specific warnings from German security agencies regarding a terrorist threat, Federal Interior Minister Faeser canceled the trip to the Syrian capital, Damascus, which was scheduled for this morning before departure from Amman, the capital of Jordan,” a ministry spokesperson said.
The decision was made jointly with Karner.
“The potential threat to the delegation and deployed security forces was unacceptable,” the ministry’s spokesperson stated. It cannot be ruled out that the threat was directed at both the German and Austrian delegations.
“Given the very real terrorism threat, we carefully considered what this means for the safety of those accompanying us and concluded that canceling the trip was the best option,” Faeser said in Amman.
The trip had been planned under tight security and was not publicly announced. It was intended to include discussions with two ministers from the transitional government and representatives of UN humanitarian organizations. The main focus was to be on security issues and prospects for the return of Syrian refugees. “However, this incident also demonstrates that the security situation in Syria remains unstable,” a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said.
Due to the ongoing instability, Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees is currently not making any decisions on asylum requests from Syrian nationals.
