ANKARA

Türkiye’s Ambassador to Mauritania Burhan Koroglu on Thursday was appointed interim charge d'affaires at the Turkish Embassy in Damascus.

Koroglu, who was serving as Türkiye’s ambassador to Nouakchott, has been assigned to temporarily head Türkiye’s diplomatic mission in Syria's capital Damascus, Turkish diplomatic sources said.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has informed Koroglu of his new assignment.

The Turkish Embassy in Damascus near Rida Square, where many diplomatic missions are located, initially continued its operations during the regime's violent crackdown on peaceful protesters starting in 2011.

However, the embassy ceased operations on March 26, 2012, and the staff and their families returned to Türkiye.

Meanwhile, Syria’s Consulate General in Istanbul continued its operations.