Canadians Told to Leave

RIYADH, 28 February 2003 — Canada said yesterday it had asked relatives of Canadian staff at its embassy here to leave Saudi Arabia, and urged citizens to seriously consider leaving as well. In a new warden message, the embassy cited the “uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf” and the “heightened risk to Canadians in Saudi Arabia.” The message advised Canadians against traveling to Saudi Arabia, and said that, if their presence in the Kingdom “is not essential, they should leave.”