In an effort to lure tourists to Syria, the Syrian Ministry of Tourism released an ad earlier this week showing beautiful beaches and wonderful tourist attractions.
The ad shows amazingly crystal blue waters with hundreds of tourists splashing around in the waters of the coastal town called Tartus. It also shows the beautiful green landscape and palm trees surrounding the town.
The one thing that they left out was that the country is currently undergoing a civil war where several different factions are fighting for control of the country, decimating and destroying several Syrian cities.
What the ad left out was that several parts of the country are at war with one another and there are suicide bombings, military operations, bombings and artillery strikes in cities nearby.
In the city that the ad shows, Tartus, an ISIS suicide bomber killed several dozen people earlier in the summer.
Since the beginning of the war, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed as a result of the fighting. There are millions of refugees.
Cities across the country have been bombed incessantly and large portions of several cities are in rubble, including Homs, which is a short 60 miles away from the coastal town of Tartus. The city has been bombed repeatedly and citizens are constantly taking shelter because of the destruction.
The U.S. Passport and International Travel under the U.S. State Department has recommended for people to avoid all travel to Syria.
The U.S. State Department”continues to warn U.S. citizens against all travel to Syria and strongly recommends that U.S. citizens remaining in Syria depart immediately.”
“The security situation remains dangerous and unpredictable as violent conflict between government and armed anti-government groups continues throughout the country, along with an increased risk of kidnappings, bombings, murder, and terrorism,” the warning continues.
[revad2]
