BANGKOK, July 23- No Thai labourers are currently working in the Syrian Arab Republic, where fierce fighting and other violence is now endemic, according to Thailand’s Labour Ministry.
Prawit Khiangphon, director-general of Thailand’s Employment Department, affirmed on Monday that there are no Thai workers in Syria.
Some 13 Thai labourers, who were permitted to work in restaurants and Thai-styled massage parlours there since 2009, returned to Thailand several months ago.
No other skilled Thai workers have been employed in Syria either, Mr Prawit said. Syria suspended construction-related employment as it has neither city development plans, infrastructure or building of industrial facilities for many years.
Violence has rocked the Syrian capital Damascus with Syrian rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. Unrest has currently spread to Aleppo, Syria’s main commercial and industrial hub, where rebels also battled government forces.
The ongoing uprising has left more than 19,000 people dead in total, including soldiers, non-combatant civilians and rebels, across the country since fighting erupted in March 2011.
