OTTAWA — Canada’s high commission in Dhaka, Bangladesh, reopened its doors Monday after a “security precaution” resulted in one-day closure of the embassy on Sunday, according to the Foreign Affairs Department.The Canadian mission was back in business one day after the United States announced it would close four more embassies — in addition to another 15 embassies and consulates that were shut down over the weekend.
U.S. embassies in Mauritius, Rwanda, Burundi and Madagascar will be closed from Monday, Aug. 5 to Saturday, Aug. 10, during the last few days of Ramadan — a month of fasting observed by Muslims. U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Sunday that the additional closures were not in response to any new threats, but “out of an abundance of caution.”
However, The Associated Press reported Monday that an intercepted secret message between al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahri and his deputy in Yemen about plans for a major terrorism attack was the trigger that set off the shutdown. The wire service cited a U.S. intelligence official and a Mideast diplomat.
A total of 19 U.S. embassies and consulates are currently closed; 15 posts across North Africa and the Middle East were closed Sunday after the U.S. State Department issued a warning of possible terrorist attacks.
Meanwhile Canada’s embassies remain open in areas where the U.S. posts have closed down. Canadian embassies in Sudan, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia are open for business as usual. Those embassies will close on either Aug. 7 or 8 for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan.
In an email to Postmedia News, Rick Roth, press secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, wrote that Canada’s high commission in Dhaka was closed “as a security precaution,” but declined to provide any further details.
“We won’t comment publicly on security precaution specifics at our missions.”
Roth would not say whether there were plans to close any other diplomatic posts, but wrote that the government is “monitoring the situation closely” and that Foreign Affairs will “take appropriate security measures.” – Postmedia News
