Bahrain names its first ambassador to Syria in over a decade

BEIRUT (AP) — Bahrain’s news agency says the king has appointed the country’s first ambassador to Syria in more than a decade. Thursday’s decree by Bahrain’s king came as more Arab countries are improving relations with Damascus, nearly 11 years after the outbreak of Syria’s civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands and destroyed large parts of the country. Early in the conflict, Gulf Arab states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar rushed to back Sunni fighters battling Syrian government forces. Syria was expelled from the 22-member Arab League in 2011. Bahrain reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018.