Syria’s new authorities announced that Ahmed al-Sharaa, who took the helm after Bashar al-Assad’s ouster last month, has been appointed interim president and tasked with forming a transitional legislature, state media reported.
A rebel alliance led by Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ousted Assad on December 8 after a lightning offensive, ending five decades of his family’s iron-fisted rule, with a transitional government previously installed to steer the country until March 1.
Sharaa was appointed “as the country’s president in the transitional phase”, state news agency SANA reported, quoting military official Hassan Abdel Ghani, without specifying a timeframe, adding that he would also represent the country “in international forums”.
Sharaa was tasked with forming “a temporary legislative council… until a permanent constitution for the country is decided”, SANA said, adding that the Assad-era parliament had been dissolved and the 2012 constitution suspended.
The announcements came during a conference on “the victory of the Syrian revolution” that was also attended by Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and the heads of armed factions.
Abdel Ghani also announced the dissolution of all armed groups involved in Assad’s ouster, as well as the former government’s army and security agencies.
“All military factions and political and civil revolutionary bodies are dissolved and integrated into state institutions”, SANA reported Abdel Ghani as saying.
