Tour operators to Syria are amending programmes after the Foreign Office advised against all travel to the coastal city of Latakia.
Cox & Kings confirmed it has changed the itinerary of a group currently in Syria. Security forces fired live ammunition at demonstrators in Latakia at the weekend after the single bloodiest day of three weeks of protests on Friday when at least 37 people were reported killed around the country, most of them in the southern city of Der’aa.
There have been demonstrations in Damascus and in Homs, both cities on the tourist trail. Latakia is Syria’s main port as well as tourist resort and base for visits to important archeological sites.
Violence also returned to Cairo in Egypt at the weekend as troops fired on demonstrators in the city’s Tahrir Square. The army was reported to be attempting to arrest other soldiers who had joined the protests.
However, the latest UK Foreign Office (FCO) advice is that Luxor, Aswan and the Red Sea resorts remain calm. The resorts, including Sharm el Sheikh, remained open throughout the overthrow of the Egyptian government in February.