Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, reached an agreement on Tuesday with former rebel faction leaders 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 announced last week that the ministry would be restructured, incorporating former rebel factions and defected officers from Bashar al-Assad’s army.
Sharaa now faces the challenging task of preventing clashes between the various groups.
The new administration appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a prominent figure in the insurgency that overthrew Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government.
Syria’s historic ethnic and religious minorities, including Muslim Kurds, Shi’ites, Syriac, Greek, and Armenian Orthodox Christians, as well as the Druze community, had feared during the civil war that future Sunni Islamist rule could threaten their way of life.
Sharaa has assured visiting Western officials that the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which he leads and was once affiliated with al-Qaeda, will neither seek revenge against the former regime nor repress any religious minority.
Syrian rebels captured Damascus on December 8, forcing Assad to flee after over 13 years of civil war, bringing an end to his family’s decades-long rule.
