New Syrian government says ex-rebel factions agree to merge under defense ministry

PHOTO CAPTION: A then-rebel fighter holds his weapon as he stands in front of a military vehicle in Menagh, north of Aleppo, Syria December 2, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hassano

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.

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 Muslim 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 minority.

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)