Turkey reopens Damascus embassy after al-Assad’s fall

Turkey on Saturday reopened its embassy in Damascus after a 12-year closure, a week after opposition forces toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad.

The Turkish flag was raised over the diplomatic mission in the presence of the new charge d’affaires Burhan Koroglu, the journalist said.

Representatives of the opposition’s transitional government were present at the ceremony at the embassy in the capital’s Rawda district, which also hosts other diplomatic missions.

An opposition coalition launched a lightning offensive on November 27, sweeping swathes of territory from government control and taking the capital on Sunday.

Turkey has long supported opposition groups in Syria.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday that Koroglu and staff had left for Damascus and the embassy would be “operational” the following day.

The Damascus embassy closed on March 26, 2012, a year after Syria’s civil war began, due to the deteriorating security situation amid calls by the Turkish government for al-Assad to step down.

Koroglu was previously Turkey’s ambassador to Nouakchott, Mauritania.

It was not immediately clear how long he would hold the post in Damascus.

Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin was in Damascus on Thursday, Turkish television channels reported.