The State Department announced today that it will suspend operations at the Syrian Embassy in Washington, D.C. and ask diplomats who aren’t U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents to leave the country.

“This week marks the three-year anniversary of the Syrian revolution,” Daniel Rubinstein, Special Envoy for Syria, said in a statement. “For three years, Bashar al-Assad has refused to heed the call of the Syrian people to step aside. He has directed a war against his own people and created a humanitarian catastrophe in order to hold on to power and protect his narrow interests.

“Following the announcement that the Syrian Embassy has suspended its provision of consular services, and in consideration of the atrocities the Assad regime has committed against the Syrian people, we have determined it is unacceptable for individuals appointed by that regime to conduct diplomatic or consular operations in the United States.”

The announcement will also affect honorary consulates in Troy, Mich. and Houston. Like diplomats, “consulates are no longer permitted to perform diplomatic or consular functions.”

“Despite the differences between our governments, the United States continues to maintain diplomatic relations with the state of Syria as an expression of our longstanding ties with the Syrian people, an interest that will endure long after Bashar al-Assad leaves power,” Rubinstein said.

More than 146,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The United Nations says at least 5.5 million childre have been affected by the war.