Damascus declared on Monday Morocco’s ambassador persona non grata, hours after Rabat expelled Syrian envoy to the North African country.

Damascus declared on Monday Morocco's ambassador persona non grata, hours after Rabat expelled Syrian envoy to the North African country.

"Syria has just considered the accredited Moroccan ambassador to Syria persona non grata," ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said via Twitter, after Morocco demanded that Syrian ambassador Nabih Ismail depart the country.

In its statement announcing Ismail's expulsion, Rabat cited violence in Syria as the trigger for its decision.
"The Moroccan authorities have been following with great concern the violence that Syria's people are suffering," the statement said.