Damascus: Syrians on Friday protested in several cities across the country against the participation of President Bashar Al-Assad, in the Arab summit in Saudi Arabia.
Assad’s presence at the Arab summit culminated at the end of Arab isolation that had been imposed on him since the start of the revolution in that nation in 2011, after the regime forces suppressed huge popular protests calling for his resignation.
Hundreds of Syrians took to the squares in the cities of Azaz, Afrin, and Al-Bab.
In the city of Azaz, demonstrators chanted, “The people want the fall of the regime,” “Syria is not represented by the criminal Assad,” and they carried banners reading “No to normalization.”
Qatar Emir walks out of Arab summit ahead of Assad’s speech
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on Friday, reportedly walked out of the 32nd Arab League Summit in Jeddah ahead of the speech of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
“Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani left the city of Jeddah in the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, after heading the country’s delegation participating in the 32nd regular session of the Arab League Council at the summit level,” the Amiri Diwan tweeted.
Reuters quoted an unnamed “Arab official” as saying that the Emir of Qatar left the Arab summit before the start of the speech of the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar Al-Assad.
The war in Syria erupted after Assad’s crackdown on peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 escalated into a bloody conflict that drew in foreign powers and various armed groups.
More than half a million people were killed and about half of the country’s pre-war population has been forced from their homes.
The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in May 2011 after Assad’s brutal handling of the protest.
This year’s summit marks the first one with a Syrian presence since the country was expelled.
After a push from Saudi Arabia earlier this year, Syria was readmitted to the organization despite initial opposition from some member states.
Qatar is one of the Arab countries that has openly announced that it will not change its position on the Syrian regime until the aspirations of the people who have revolted against the oppression they have been subjected to are fulfilled.
Qatar closed its embassy in Syria in 2011 and was the first to establish an embassy for the Syrian opposition in its capital Doha.
