London 2012: Syrian general says he will come to Olympics In January, the EU issued a travel ban on some of Syria's highest ranked military officers in response to the violence sweeping the country. The Government is likely to prevent anyone linked to Assad into the UK. It is believed Olympics organisers are considering allowing Syrian athletes to compete but without parading the Syrian flag. Jeremy Browne, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister, has said: "Entry will be refused where an individual's presence at the Games or in the UK would not be conducive to the public good. Where there is independent, reliable and credible evidence that an individual has committed human rights abuses, the individual will not normally be permitted to enter the UK. Although the Foreign Office has seen no evidence that directly links General Joumaa to human rights offences, it was reported he would be viewed as being loyal to Assad, whose troops have killed around 10,000 people in the last 15 months. But General Joumaa claimed the UK had nothing to fear from Syrians coming to the Olympics. "The British people should not be worried about Syrians coming to the UK," he said. What happened in some cities like Homs is that people broke the law.