Syria's new government thanks countries that reopened missions

DAMASCUS: Syria’s new government thanked eight countries on Thursday for swiftly reopening their diplomatic missions after a lightning rebel offensive ousted president Bashar al-Assad at the weekend.

The offensive, which took just 10 days to sweep across Syria and take the capital Damascus, stunned the world and brought an end to more than a half a century of rule by the Assad clan.

The rebels, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), appointed an interim prime minister on Tuesday to lead the country until March.

The new government’s department of political affairs issued a statement thanking Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman and Italy “for resuming the activities of their diplomatic missions in Damascus”.

After the rebels took Damascus, an “armed group” entered the residence of Italy’s ambassador in Damascus and stole three cars, the Italian government said on Sunday.

Qatar announced on Wednesday it would “soon” reopen its embassy in Damascus.

The move aimed to “strengthen the close historical fraternal ties between the two countries,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said.

The Gulf country also sought to “enhance coordination with relevant authorities to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid currently provided by Qatar to the Syrian people” via an air bridge, it added.

Doha closed its diplomatic mission in Damascus in July 2011 after an uprising against the Assad government turned into a 13-year-long civil war.

The war killed more than 500,000 people and forced half the population to flee their homes, with six million of them seeking refuge abroad.