Syrian Rebel’s Government Appoint Defense and Foreign Affaires Ministers
Murahf Abu Qasr, new Defense Minister of the ruling Syrian government (R) and Ahmad al-Shara (C). Photo: @OmerOzkizilcik
December 21, 2024 Hour: 6:33 pm
The Syrian interim government appointed on Saturday the ministers of defence, Marhaf Abu Qasra, and foreign affairs, Asaad Hasan al-Shaibani, two men very close to the strong man and de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
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This afternoon, Al Sharaa held a meeting in Damascus between different military factions that participated in the insurgent coalition that overthrew Bashar al-Assad on 8 December, which resulted in the appointment to Defense of Abu Qasra, Known by the name of war of Abu al-Hasan al-Hamawi, reported opposition-controlled Syrian television.
Al-Sharaa, said that the rebel “factions will merge into one institution under the direction of the Ministry of Defence in the new army”.
The commander has a difficult task to integrate in one military institution both the myriad of factions that participated in the insurgent offensive, led by HTS, and the members of the Army of the old overthrew government, who “disbanded” during the offensive to join the “revolution”.
In fact, the new administration has opened more this week so-called “reconciliation centers” to register members of the old army and to surrender their weapons, the last today in the province of Rif Damascus, near the Syrian capital.
On the other hand, Asaad Hasan al-Shaibani, the new Foreign Minister’s main mission is to ensure that sanctions are lifted and to achieve foreign cooperation actions that help the reconstruction of Syria.
Known under the pseudonym of Zaid al-Attar, he was since 2017 the head of the Political Affairs Department of the Government of Salvation, the authority established in Idlib, in north-west Syria and former opposition stronghold -an area that escaped the control of the Al-Assad regime, and participated in its founding.