Ms Baerbock flew to Damascus from Cyprus on Friday morning.
With a ceasefire holding by a thread, this was an inauspicious time to visit anywhere in the area, let alone the country at the heart of the renewed conflict.
Mr Khattab accused Mr al-Assad’s regime of exploiting the security apparatus to oppress Syrians.
The interior ministry said unknown groups perpetrated the violence and that its forces were working “night and day” to protect religious sites.
Attacks on health facilities also escalated, with 37 incidents reported in the past month, according to WHO.
While it was unclear whether they intended to extinguish the flames or fuel the fire, the arson attack has sparked outrage among Syria’s Christian community.
Ms Pope stated that IOM would be part of any effort to help address the situation there.
According to her, IOM has been unable to operate in Syria since 2018.
![RAVAGED SYRIA [ Credit: NPR]](https://gazettengr.com/wp-content/uploads/WhatsApp-Image-2023-08-09-at-13.01.21.jpg)
For Tehran, al-Assad was a strategically important ally in its self-declared resistance front against arch-enemy Israel.
Mr Pedersen noted the “immense” change since the fall of the Assad regime.
