The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
May 19, 2023

Bashar al-Assad Joins Arab League Summit for First Time Since Start of Syrian Civil War
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is in Saudi Arabia to attend his first
Arab League summit since Syria was suspended from the group 12 years ago
as Syria descended into a devastating civil war following Assad's
violent crackdown on protesters. Earlier this month, the Arab League
agreed to readmit Syria as part of an effort to reintegrate the war-torn
nation in the region. Volodymyr Zelensky is also in Jeddah, where he is
addressing the summit and will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman and others.


.