Syria declared on Tuesday that the ambassadors of several Western were personae non gratae, in an official statement from the foreign ministry.

"Some states recently informed heads of our diplomatic missions and embassy staff that they are unwelcome," the statement said, adding Syria was now designating the ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France and Turkey, among others, as personae non gratae.

Last week, Western nations expelled Syrian diplomats in a coordinated move against President Bashar Assad's regime over the killing of more than 100 people in a weekend in one cluster of villages.

[Source: AP and AFP]