Some more asked to keep away

Palace withdraws Syrian ambassador's Royal wedding invite

London: Britain on Thursday abruptly withdrew the Syrian ambassador's invitation on the eve of the royal wedding, saying the regime's crackdown on protesters made it unacceptable for him to attend.

Khiyami said the move was "a bit embarrassing" but it would not bother Damascus killing some more of its people

"An invitation does not mean endorsement or approval of the behaviour of any government, simply that we have normal diplomatic relations with that country," the statement said.

"In the light of this week's attacks against civilians by the Syrian security forces, which we have condemned, the Foreign Secretary has decided that the presence of the Syrian ambassador at the royal wedding would be unacceptable and that he should not attend."

Rights groups have criticised the attendance of dignitaries from a number of countries with poor human rights records.

Britain has already rescinded an invitation to the Libyan ambassador to London amid ongoing attacks against civilians by forces loyal to strongman Moamer Kadhafi in the North African country.

The Crown Prince of Bahrain on Sunday said he would no longer be attending, saying he did not want unrest in his country to distract from the British royals' big day.

A bloody crackdown on mainly Shiite Muslim protesters in Sunni-ruled Bahrain has left at least 24 people dead.