Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reached an agreement on Tuesday with former armed opposition faction chiefs to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the defense ministry, according to a statement from the new administration.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir had said last week that the ministry would be restructured using former armed opposition factions and officers who defected from Bashar al-Assad’s army.
Al-Sharaa will face the daunting task of trying to avoid clashes between the myriad groups.
The country’s new rulers appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government.
Al-Sharaa has told Western officials visiting him that the “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” (HTS) group he heads, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, will neither seek revenge against the former regime nor repress any religious minority.
Syrian armed opposition forces seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
Reuters, Al Arabiya
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