Syrian foreign minister raises new flag at UN headquarters

Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani raises his country’s new flag at the United Nations headquarters in New York, in what he calls a “historic” moment.

Shaibani “raises the new Syrian flag in front of the United Nations building in New York,” Syrian state news agency SANA reports.

Images show Shaibani raising the three-starred flag officially adopted after the December ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. The flag has become a symbol of the revolt against Assad’s repressive rule.

In an interview with Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, Shaibani says raising the new flag is a step “Syrians had been waiting for, for 14 years” since Assad repressed peaceful protesters, igniting a civil war.

The move is “not just a symbolic step” but “salutes the memory of the Syrian people and it crowns their victory,” he adds.