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Maldives has lifted the ban on travel to Syria, which was enforced in 2019 due to the civil war and insurgency. Alongside this, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which currently rules Syria, has been removed from the proscribed terrorist organizations list.
Under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the list of proscribed terrorist organizations and warzones to which travel by Maldivians is banned must be reviewed and announced annually by the President on the advice of the National Security Council.
HTS assumed power in Syria after forces led by President Ahmed Al Sharaa toppled the Bashar al-Assad regime in December, 2024. HTS has been listed on Maldives’ proscribed terrorist organizations list since 2019. They remained on the list even after the last review, in December, 2024, alongside 19 other organizations.
HTS was delisted in the latest reviewed list, published last Thursday.
The updated list also lifted the ban on Maldivians traveling to Syria, removing it from the roster of restricted warzones.
Reports say the decision followed moves by several countries to delist HTS as a terrorist group and recognize it as Syria’s legitimate government.
Several countries, including the USA, have removed HTS from the list of proscribed terrorist organizations. Recently, US President Donald Trump has met with Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa at the White House.
