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Syria’s Assad appoints governors to opposition held Idlib, Raqqa

October 28, 2020 at 11:07 am

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus, Syria on 7 September 2020 [Russian Foreign Ministry/Anadolu Agency]

The Syrian Government announced the appointment of new governors to the country’s five provinces, including Idlib and Raqqa which are in the control of opposition groups, according to the Presidential office.

The Syrian Presidency  announced on Monday that “President Bashar Al-Assad issued Decree No. 293 for the year 2020, to appoint Mr. Abdul-Razzaq Khalifa as governor of the Raqqa Governorate,” and “Decree No. 297 for the year 2020 appointing Mr. Muhammad Natouf as governor of the Idlib governorate.”

According to the announcement, the Syrian president also appointed governors in the governorates of Hama, Al-Quneitra and Deir Ez-Zor.

Assad forces have recaptured most of the country, with support from Russia and Iranian-backed militias. However, the United States has imposed new sanctions aimed at cutting support for Al-Assad’s government and warned that anyone doing business with Damascus would be at risk of being blacklisted.

Last month, the US once again urged countries not to restore diplomatic relations with the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al-Assad or upgrade their economic cooperation with it.

READ: US envoy claims Assad has ‘surrendered’ Syria’s sovereignty

Since 15 March 2011, the Syrian civil war has destroyed some of the oldest cities in the world, killed upwards of half a million people, and created the greatest refugee crisis since World War II.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) last week said it investigated dozens of “unlawful” air and ground strikes by Russia and the regime on civilian targets in the region around the city of Idlib between April 2019 and March 2020 that killed hundreds of civilians.