On Monday, President Bashar al-Assad, issued a decision to “appoint governors for the governorates of Raqqa and Idleb,” the first time he has done so in years.
The Syrian Presidency said in a statement that, “President Assad issued Decree No. 293/2020, to appoint Abdul-Razzaq Khalifa as Governor of Raqqa Governorate,” and, “Decree No. 297/2020 appointing Muhammad Natouf as Governor of Idleb Governorate.”
Assad also issued other decisions to appoint governors for Hama, Quneitra, and Deir ez-Zor.
It should be pointed out that the administrative capitals of Idleb and Raqqa are currently under the control of two separate entities.
Idleb city was captured by Jaish al-Fateh in the Spring of 2015 and is currently under the control of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.
Raqqa city was captured by the Free Syrian Army and Jabhat al-Nusra in late 2012 and has been under the control of two other entities since then, including the Islamic State from 2014 – 2017 and the Syrian Democratic Forces from 2017 to present.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
