Syrians react to Assad's return to Arab League
Bashar Assad's attendance at the Arab League summit after a 13-year absence signals a potential regional reintegration, despite sparking controversy and eliciting mixed reactions from Syrians at home
By MOHAMMED AL-KASSIM/THE MEDIA LINE
Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Thursday to attend his first Arab League summit in 13 years, signaling regional reintegration after more than a decade of war. The scene of Assad’s plane landing in Saudi Arabia to a gracious greeting by top officials was unheard of just a year ago, when Riyadh, Doha, and several other Arab capitals severed diplomatic ties with Damascus and helped finance and arm opposition groups to topple him.
After 12 years of a deadly civil war that killed more than 500,000, wounded hundreds of thousands more, and left millions as refugees and displaced, Syrians at home and abroad seem ambivalent about the Arab states’ re-acceptance of Assad.
more............ https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-743574
Bashar Assad's attendance at the Arab League summit after a 13-year absence signals a potential regional reintegration, despite sparking controversy and eliciting mixed reactions from Syrians at home
By MOHAMMED AL-KASSIM/THE MEDIA LINE
Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Thursday to attend his first Arab League summit in 13 years, signaling regional reintegration after more than a decade of war. The scene of Assad’s plane landing in Saudi Arabia to a gracious greeting by top officials was unheard of just a year ago, when Riyadh, Doha, and several other Arab capitals severed diplomatic ties with Damascus and helped finance and arm opposition groups to topple him.
After 12 years of a deadly civil war that killed more than 500,000, wounded hundreds of thousands more, and left millions as refugees and displaced, Syrians at home and abroad seem ambivalent about the Arab states’ re-acceptance of Assad.
more............ https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-743574
