Qatar to reopen embassy in Syria after 13 years on Tuesday

Qatar will reopen its embassy in Syria on Tuesday after it was closed for more than 13 years, the Gulf country's foreign ministry said on Sunday, a week after Bashar al-Assad was removed from power.

Qatar's embassy in Damascus has been shut since July 2011 when it withdrew its ambassador from Damascus after a series of deadly crackdowns by Assad's regime on protesters - violence that led to the 13-year-long civil war.

Doha in recent years did not join efforts by several Arab countries to mend relations with Assad's government and re-establish diplomatic relations with Damascus.

A lightning advance by rebels, lead by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group - a former al Qaeda affiliate - led to the ouster of Assad on Dec. 8.

Qatar's foreign ministry said in a statement its decision to reopen the embassy reflects its support for the Syrian people and their "struggle to attain their legitimate rights for a dignified life".

Unlike other Arab countries, Qatar never restored diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad, who was toppled by the 11-day rebel advance that swept through major cities and then the capital Damascus.

Doha said the return after the 13-year hiatus was "an expression of the State of Qatar´s principled stand with the Syrian people´s revolution" as well as a "categorical rejection of all the repressive policies of the regime" of Assad.

Earlier, foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told the official Qatar News Agency that a Qatari delegation was in Syria and had met with officials in the transitional government.

The delegation "arrived in Damascus to complete the necessary procedures for the opening of the State of Qatar´s embassy", Ansari said.

In its meetings, "the delegation reaffirmed the State of Qatar´s full commitment to supporting the Syrian people... following the success of their revolution," the spokesman added.

Ansari said the Qatari delegation had also "discussed with the Syrian sideways to facilitate the flow of Qatari humanitarian aid and assessed the needs of the Syrian brothers during this important phase".

This week, an official briefed on developments said Qatar had "established the first channel of communication" with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the ouster of the former government.

The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, added the "focus of the communication with HTS and others is on the need... to maintain calm and preserve Syria´s public institutions during the transition period".

Other governments that opposed Assad´s rule, including Turkey and the United States, have said they too had established contacts with HTS.