Bahrain appoints new ambassador to Syria 10 years after shuttering embassy

ByNews Desk- The Cradle

As Gulf states continue to promote cooperation with Damascus, Russian forces have renewed their offensive against rebel groups holed up in Idlib and Aleppo

Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. (Photo credit: AFP/File)

On 30 December, Bahrain appointed its first ambassador to Syria for the first time in a decade, in yet another display of thawing relations between Damascus and its Arab neighbors.

According to the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa appointed Waheed Mubarak Sayyar as the head of the kingdom’s diplomatic mission to Syria, with the title of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

In March 2012, Manama closed its embassy in Damascus and withdrew all diplomats and staff following the outbreak of the war.

The embassy was eventually reopened in December 2018.

Most Gulf countries severed relations with Damascus at the start of the war and threw their support behind US-backed rebel and armed groups that sought to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

However, over the past year several of these nations have changed their tune and are looking to bring Syria back into the regional fold.

Last year, Oman became the first Gulf state to reinstate an ambassador to Syria.

Following in their footsteps, the UAE sent its foreign minister to Damascus last month to meet with President Assad. The UAE has also called for Syria to be re-admitted into the Arab League.

This thawing of relations after a decade of war comes as the Syrian government has continued to make significant advances in rebel-controlled areas with the help of the Russian army.

Moscow launches new offensive in Idlib and Aleppo

Meanwhile, Russian forces have launched renewed airstrikes against armed groups holed up in northern Syria.

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Russian jets carried out five airstrikes in the vicinity of Barisha, Kfar Arouk and Maarat Masrin in the northern countryside of Idlib.

They later launched four airstrikes on the Al-Sheikh Bahr area on the northern outskirts of Idlib city. On top of this, the Kremlin’s forces also launched three airstrikes on Al-Sheikh Barakat mountain at the outskirts of Darat Azza in the western countryside of Aleppo, bringing the number of airstrikes during the day to 12.

Soon after the attacks were reported, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Siromolotov said during a news conference that extremist groups in Idlib are still a major destabilizing factor for the war-torn nation.

“The main destabilizing factors are the survival of extremist groups in the Idlib de-escalation zone, and the presence of Daesh and al-Qaeda cells,” he told reporters.