Key events
Jordan to host Syria talks after Damascus erupts in celebration
Hello, we are restarting our live coverage of the ongoing crises in the Middle East.
Today, Jordan will welcome diplomats from the US, EU, and Turkey and Arab nations to discuss the developing situation in Syria, 24 hours after swathes of the nation’s population celebrated the ousting of president Bashar al-Assad.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken will be among envoys set to discuss Syria in the Jordanian city of Aqaba.
Syrians called the day the “Friday of victory” as fireworks illuminated the sky over Damascus. Assad had ruled the country with an iron fist for over fifty years when his dictatorship came to an end after rebels stormed the capital, bringing 14 years of war that claimed over 500,000 lives and displaced millions.
A Qatari diplomat said a delegation from the Gulf emirate would visit Syria on Sunday to meet transitional government officials and discuss aid and the reopening of their embassy.
Qatar, Unlike other Arab states, never restored diplomatic ties with Assad after a rupture in 2011.
We’ll bring you updates from those talks in Jordan, plus all the latest developments from around the Middle East
