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Germany Reopens Embassy in Damascus, Establishing Official Diplomatic Ties With Syria’s New Regime

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks during a press conference in Damascus, Syria, March 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Germany reopened its embassy in Damascus on Thursday, 13 years since its closure during the early days of Syria’s civil war, as both countries work to strengthen their bilateral relations.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited Damascus — her second trip since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December — to mark Berlin’s establishment of official diplomatic relations with the new Syrian government.

“I am here in Syria for the second time in around 10 weeks because the country and its future are on a knife edge,” Baerbock said at a news conference. “We can’t predict what will happen in a few months or perhaps a few weeks’ time.”

As a show of support for Syria’s nascent regime, Berlin reopened its embassy in the country in an effort to improve diplomatic relations, while pledging economic assistance and sanctions relief to aid the new government and the country’s reconstruction efforts.

Of the European Union’s 27 member states, only Italy reopened its embassy last year before Assad’s fall, while Spain did so after his ouster.

In a statement, Baerbock said her trip was intended to convey the message that “a political new beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria, is possible.”

She also said there are “clear expectations that there is freedom, security, and opportunity in Syria for all people — for women and men, for people belonging to all ethnic groups and religions.”

Earlier this month, clashes between fighters loyal to Assad and forces aligned with Syria’s new rulers sparked the worst violence since the new government seized power, leaving over 1,000 people dead. In a series of confrontations, fighters supporting the new Syrian government carried out mass executions of Alawite Muslim civilians.

According to Syria’s interior ministry, the pro-government fighters conducted “sweeping operations” to dismantle the last “remnants” of Assad’s regime, targeting primarily adult men.

However, the ensuing mass killing of Alawites, who comprise roughly 10 percent of the Syrian population, has raised concern among the international community about the safety of minority groups in the country.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa decried the massacres, claiming they undermined his efforts to unite the country and vowing to seek retribution for the violence.

“Syria is a state of law. The law will take its course on all,” Sharaa told Reuters. “We fought to defend the oppressed, and we won’t accept that any blood be shed unjustly, or go without punishment or accountability, even among those closest to us.”

In late January, Sharaa became Damascus’s transitional president after leading a rebel campaign that ousted Assad, whose Iran-backed rule had strained ties with the Arab world during the nearly 14-year Syrian war.

The collapse of Assad’s regime was the result of an offensive spearheaded by Sharaa’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate.

During her visit on Thursday, Baerbock said the recent clashes had “massively cost confidence” among the international community. Germany’s top diplomat emphasized that the new Syrian government “must have control over the actions of the groups in its own ranks and bring those responsible to account.”

After the recent clashes, Syria’s new Islamist-led government — backed by Turkey — and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group reached a ceasefire agreement.

Under the new deal between the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government, the SDF will be integrated into Damascus’s institutions. In exchange, the agreement gives the Syrian government control over SDF-held civilian and military sites in the northeast region of the country.

Baerbock praised the “historic” agreement and emphasized the importance of including other groups to ensure they feel like they are “part of a new Syria.”

Since Assad’s fall, the new Syrian government has sought to strengthen ties with Arab and Western leaders. Damascus’s new diplomatic relationships reflect a distancing from its previous allies, Iran and Russia.

The new Syrian government appears focused on reassuring the West and working to get sanctions lifted, which date back to 1979 when the US labeled Syria a state sponsor of terrorism and were significantly increased following Assad’s violent response to the anti-government protests.

The Assad regime’s brutal crackdown on opposition protests in 2011 sparked the Syrian civil war, during which Syria was suspended from the Arab League for more than a decade.

Earlier this week, European Union countries pledged to continue supporting Syria’s new leadership through both financial aid and sanctions relief, despite an outbreak of sectarian violence threatening the country’s stability.

Germany committed to providing €300 million in support for food, health, and other essential services for the Syrian population.

“As Europeans, we stand together for the people of Syria, for a free and peaceful Syria,” Baerbock said during the annual donor conference for Syria in Brussels.

The post Germany Reopens Embassy in Damascus, Establishing Official Diplomatic Ties With Syria’s New Regime first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Report: IDF Probes Whether Houthis Used Iranian Cluster Bomb-Bearing Missile

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

i24 NewsThe Israeli military said Saturday it launched a probe into the failure of its defenses to fully intercept a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi jihadists, parts of which struck not far from the Ben Gurion airport on Friday night.

According to the Ynet website, one of the hypotheses being examined is that the projectile contained cluster munitions, similar to those used by Iran to fire at Israeli cities during the 12-day war in June. Cluster munitions pose a challenge to interceptors as they disperse smaller explosives over a wide area.

In June, Iran fired several missiles carrying scattered small bombs with the aim of increasing civilian casualties.

The IDF said on Saturday that its initial review suggests the ballistic missile from Yemen likely fragmented in mid-air. Five interceptors from various systems engaged with the missile, including THAAD, Arrow, David Sling & Iron Dome.

Authorities said that shrapnel impacted a house in the central Israeli moshav of Ginaton, yet no one was hurt, with the fragment landing in the house’s backyard.

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Iran Forces Kill Six Militants, IRNA Reports, Israel Link Seen

The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 3, 2023. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iranian security forces shot dead six militants in a clash in southeastern Iran on Saturday, a day after armed rebels killed five police officers in the restive region, the official news agency IRNA reported.

IRNA said evidence showed the group was linked to Israel and may have been trained by Israel‘s Mossad spy agency. There was no immediate Israeli reaction to the allegation.

Another two members of the militant group were arrested, the report said. All but one of the militants were foreign, it added, without giving their nationality.

Iranian police said this month they had arrested as many as 21,000 suspects during the 12-day war with Israel in June.

Iran’s southeast has been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and armed groups, including Sunni militants and separatists who say they are fighting for greater rights and autonomy.

Tehran says some of them have ties to foreign powers and are involved in cross-border smuggling and insurgency.

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Benny Gantz Urges Time-Limited National Unity Government to Further Chances of Hostage Deal

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz attends his party’s meeting at the Knesset, Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

i24 NewsBlue and White Party leader Benny Gantz on Saturday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition politicians to form a temporary national unity government to further the chances of bringing home the hostages held in Gaza.

Addressing Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Liberman, Gantz said that the proposed government’s two supreme priorities would be the release of Israeli hostages held by the jihadists of Hamas and instituting universal conscription in Israel by ending the exemption from military service enjoyed by the ultra-Orthodox.

Upon attainment of the goals, the government would dissolve and call an election.

“The government’s term will begin with a hostage deal that brings everyone home,” Gantz said in a video address. “Within weeks, we will formulate an enlistment outline that would see our ultra-Orthodox brethren drafted to the military and ease the burden on those already serving. Finally, we will announce an agreed-upon election date in the spring of 2026 and pass a law to dissolve the Knesset [Israeli parliament] accordingly. This is what’s right for Israel.”

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