LIVE: Syria takes part in Arab League Summit for first time in 12 years

Arab leaders are set to convene in Jeddah on Friday, May 19 for the 32nd Arab League Summit, with Syria taking part for the first time in over a decade. The organisation suspended Damascus in November 2011, following a crackdown on protests and the subsequent civil war that is estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of people. The Arab League’s Secretary General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said decision to readmit Syria was the start of a process to resolve the crisis in the country, which would be ’gradual’. In a statement, Syria’s foreign ministry said it had received the League’s decision ’with great attention’ and called for ’greater Arab co-operation and partnership’. The US and UK, which have recently stated that they will not restore relations with President Bashar al-Assad’s government, have criticised the move. #news #muslim #worldnews