Algeria’s top diplomat backs Syria’s return to Arab League

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Algeria’s foreign minister says Syria’s decadelong suspension from the Arab League is undermining cooperation in the group. His remarks during a visit to Damascus on Monday indicated support for Syria to be allowed to rejoin the organization under President Bashar Assad. Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra met with Assad on Monday, and also with his Syrian counterpart. The Arab League expelled Syria from the organization in 2011, as Syria’s conflict broke out. Syria’s civil war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced half the country’s population and left large parts of Syria destroyed.