CORRECTS - Qatar to reopen its embassy in Syria after more than 13 years

CORRECTS 1ST PARA, CHANGES HEADLINE

By Iyad Nabolsi

ISTANBUL (AA) - Qatar will reopen its embassy in Syria on Tuesday after more than 13 years of closure following the fall of the Bashar Assad regime.

In a statement Sunday, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said Khalifa Abdullah al-Mahmoud al-Sharif has been appointed as the country’s charge d'affaires.

The ministry said the resumption of the embassy's operations in the capital Damascus comes more than 13 years after severing all diplomatic relations with the Syrian regime in 2011.

This step, the ministry said, reflects "Qatar's principled stance in solidarity with the Syrian people's revolution and its steadfast support for their demands for dignity, freedom and social justice."

It also represents "Qatar's unequivocal rejection of all repressive policies of the regime against the Syrian people," it said.

The move came after a Qatari diplomatic delegation visited Damascus to finalize procedures for the embassy’s reopening and discuss ways to enhance the flow of Qatari humanitarian aid to Syria.

Qatar closed its embassy in Damascus in July 2011 over the Assad regime’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests that year.

Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8 after anti-regime groups seized control of Damascus.

The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters captured key cities across the country in a swift offensive that lasted less than two weeks.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala