Tunisia’s President Saied to boost diplomatic ties with Syria

• Raven Ruma
• . February 11, 2023
• . Update: February 11, 2023 8:56 pm
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Tunisian President Kais Saied has announced the strengthening of diplomatic relations with Syria, the most prominent signal yet of Tunisia’s intention to fully restore ties days after deadly earthquakes that have wreaked havoc in large parts of Syria and neighbouring Turkey.

Monday’s powerful 7.8-magnitude quake and series of aftershocks have killed over 24,000 people in both countries and displaced thousands of others. Scores of people were killed in their sleep, while a number of survivors were forced to rush into the streets in their pyjamas.

Amid a major shortage of food, water, medical supplies, and shelter during freezing conditions, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised concerns over a second humanitarian disaster striking the two countries unless survivors get access to basic necessities “very fast”.

Read | Teams from Saudi fly to Turkey to help with earthquake relief operations

Tunisia cut off diplomatic ties with Syria years back to protest the government’s violent crackdown on demonstrators and activists opposed to the regime of President Bashar Assad, who has been ruling the war-torn nation since 17 July 2000.

In 2017, Tunisia reinstituted a limited diplomatic mission to Syria, in part to help track over 3,000 Tunisian militants fighting in Syria.

It has dispatched aid planes to the quake-hit nation, including search and rescue personnel, which have arrived at the Aleppo International Airport controlled by the Syrian regime.

According to analysts, the Syrian president is seeking political advantage from the disaster, pressing for foreign aid to be delivered through his territory as he aims to chip away at his international isolation.

During his first visit to the disaster zone on Friday, Assad met victims at Aleppo University Hospital as well as rescuers in Masharqua. “Syrians don’t talk, they take action,” he mentioned, pledging to “work non-stop” for the affected residents.