°®Âþµº

Turkey on Saturday reopened its embassy in Damascus after a 12-year closure, a week after rebels toppled longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad.

over the diplomatic mission in the presence of the new charge d'affaires Burhan Koroglu, an AFP journalist said.

Representatives of the rebels' transitional government were present at the ceremony at the embassy in the capital's Rawda district, which also hosts other diplomatic missions.

An Islamist-led rebel alliance launched a lightning offensive on November 27, sweeping swathes of territory from regime control and taking the capital on Sunday.

Turkey has long supported rebel groups and maintains a military presence in parts of northern Syria.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Friday that Koroglu and staff had left for Damascus and the embassy would be "operational" the following day.

The Damascus embassy closed on March 26, 2012, a year after Syria's civil war began, due to Assad's forces violently cracking down on pro-democracy protests and calls by the Turkish government for Assad to step down.

Koroglu was previously Turkey's ambassador to Nouakchott, Mauritania.

It was not immediately clear how long he would hold the post in Damascus.

Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin was in Damascus on Thursday, Turkish television channels reported.