American embassy in Damascus delayed to pay staff salary

The Lebanese magazine al-Sheraa said in its recent issue quoting well-informed sources that the US embassy in Damascus " delayed paying salaries of its staff for December, 2001 because its fund is almost empty as a result of the fact that the Syrians and the Lebanese are abstaining from applying migration requests to the US."

The magazine said that salaries of the embassy's employees are paid from its special fund which depends on the fees paid by migration seekers from Syria and Lebanon. The magazine indicated that the embassy was obliged to ask the help of the state department for paying salaries of its working staff for December 2001.