Gulf nations are moving to readmit Syria into the Arab League, eight years after Damascus was expelled from the regional bloc over its brutal repression of peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad. Syria was thrown out of the Arab League in 2011 over its violent response to opposition dissent, a move that failed to stem the bloodshed that spiralled into civil war. This week, the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, became the first Arab League leader to visit Syria in eight years, a visit widely interpreted as a gesture of friendship on behalf of Saudi Arabia, which has shored up ties with Khartoum in recent years. “Arab leaders in the Gulf have long acquiesced to the idea of Bashar al-Assad surviving in power. Privately, however, one member expressed frustration at the Arab countries who threw their weight behind Syria’s revolution in 2011.

Source: The Guardian December 26, 2018 04:52 UTC