- The Washington Times - Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Qatar is poised to turn over control of the Syrian Embassy in its capital city of Doha to the main opposition group fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.

The announcement is not entirely surprising, since Qatar was one of the first nations to recognize the Syrian National Coalition as the leading force for the Syrian population, the BBC reports.

The embassy soon will fly the opposition group’s flag, while the SNC ambassador will be given full diplomatic status, the BBC reports.

The move comes at a time when Syria’s former Foreign Ministry spokesman has abandoned the government’s regime out of despair that promised reforms would fail, the BBC reports. Jihad Makdissi disappeared from Damascus in December, the BBC said.

• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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