Syrian embassy in Doha was handed over to the Syrian opposition on Wednesday, one day after Arab leaders rushed through a declaration granting Damascus’ seat at the Arab League to the Syrian opposition.

Syrian embassy in Doha was handed over to the Syrian opposition on Wednesday, one day after Arab leaders rushed through a declaration granting Damascus' seat at the Arab League to the Syrian opposition.

At an inauguration ceremony, participated by the resigned leader of Syrian National Coalition (SNC) Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib, the newly-elected Western-backed Prime Minister of the opposition's provisional government Ghassan Hitto, Qatari officials and Western diplomats, the Syrian opposition's flag was hoisted at the embassy for the first time.

The SNC named Nizar al-Haraki as its ambassador to Qatar.

On Tuesday, Arab leaders issued a declaration at a summit, granting Damascus' seat at the Arab League to the Syrian opposition and acknowledging member countries' right to provide all means of self-defense to the Syrian opposition.

Qatar was the driving force behind the formation of oppositional SNC and was among the first countries to recognize the group as "legitimate" representatives of the Syrian people.

Last month, the SNC said that Qatar would hand over the Syrian embassy in its capital Doha to the Syrian opposition. A new ambassador and two other staffers would be accorded full diplomatic status, the SNC said, while the Qatari leadership kept silent about the news.

The Syrian government has repeatedly accused Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey of being the driving force behind Syrian militant rebels.

The Qatari embassy in Damascus was closed last year, alongside several other embassies that belong to anti-Syrian administration countries.