Diplomats on the list are from the U.S., U.K., Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany and Canada. They're all countries that have been condemning the Assad regime's deadly crackdown on dissent.

Calling them "persona non grata," Syria today told 17 diplomats — including the U.S. ambassador — that they are no longer welcome in the country.

That move comes "a week after 11 Western nations acted in unison to expel envoys from Syria in an expression of outrage over the massacre in the Houla region, near Homs, that left 108 people dead, including many women and children," as The New York Times writes.

The U.S. embassy in Damascus has been closed since February.

The BBC says the diplomats on the list are from "the U.S., U.K., Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany and Canada."

Those are among the nations that have been most vocal in condemning the Assad regime's crackdown on dissent in Syria, which has led to the deaths of thousands of Syrians. The regime blames "terrorists" for the violence.

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