Former rebel groups agree to merge into Syrian Defense Ministry

(CLO) According to an announcement from the new Syrian government, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the country's de facto leader, has reached an important agreement with rebel factions, according to which these groups will merge and be under the Syrian Ministry of Defense.

A statement on December 24 said that the meeting between al-Sharaa and the leaders of the armed groups ended with an agreement on the dissolution of the armed groups and their merger under the supervision of the Syrian Ministry of Defense.

However, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led and US-backed group in northeastern Syria, was not involved in the deal.

Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the Syrian Defense Ministry would be restructured with the participation of former rebel factions and officers who defected from former President Bashar al-Assad's army.

This is one of the most significant developments since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. In the immediate aftermath of the Assad regime's fall, opposition fighters from across the country poured into Damascus, with several groups claiming control of different parts of the capital.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa attends a meeting with former rebel faction leaders in Damascus. Photo: SANA

After a full-scale offensive more than two weeks ago, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group took control of Damascus. The new government appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the rebellion that toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government.

Al-Sharaa has previously pledged that all weapons in the country, including those held by the Kurds, would be placed under the control of the Syrian state. He has also sought to reassure Western officials that HTS, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, would not retaliate against the Assad regime or persecute religious minorities.

He asserted that the new administration's main focus would be on rebuilding the country and boosting economic development, while declaring that he did not want to get involved in any new conflicts.

Also on November 24, Qatar called on the international community to quickly lift sanctions on Syria, a day after a high-ranking Qatari delegation visited Damascus, marking a turning point in diplomatic relations between the two countries. Qatar's embassy in Damascus also reopened on December 22, ending a 13-year diplomatic rift between the two countries.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari stressed: "Qatar's position is clear. The sanctions must be lifted quickly, because the reasons that led to these sanctions no longer exist, and those reasons are mainly the crimes of the previous regime."

Ngoc Anh (according to AJ, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/cac-nhom-phien-quan-cu-dong-y-sap-nhap-vao-bo-quoc-phong-syria-post327355.html