Syrian ex-rebel factions agree to merge under defence ministry

[Pelican Press 0]

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Syrian ex-rebel factions agree to merge under defence ministry

DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reached an agreement on Tuesday with former rebel faction chiefs to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the defence 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 rebel factions and officers who defected from Bashar al-Assad’s army.

Sharaa will face the daunting task of trying to avoid clashes between the myriad groups.

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The country’s new rulers appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defence minister in the interim government.

Syria’s historic ethnic and religious minorities include ******* Kurds and Shi’ites – who feared during the civil war that any future Sunni Islamist rule would imperil their way of life – as well as Syriac, Greek and Armenian Orthodox Christians, and the Druze community.

Sharaa has told Western officials visiting him that the Islamist 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 *********.

Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari; Writing by Jana Choukeir; Editing by Michael Georgy and Alex Richardson)

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