BBC:

Syria has returned to France the prestigious Légion d'honneur presented to President Bashar al-Assad, saying he would not wear the award of a country that was a "slave" to America.

The move comes days after France said a "disciplinary procedure" for withdrawing the award was under way.

France recently joined the US and Britain in bombing Syrian targets over an alleged chemical weapons attack.

The award was returned to France via the Romanian embassy in Damascus.

President Assad was decorated with the highest class of the award, the grand-croix, in 2001 after he took power following the death of his father.

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