BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 24. Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reached an agreement on Tuesday with former opposition faction chiefs to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the Defense Ministry, according to a statement from the new administration, TurkicWorld reports.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir had said last week that the ministry would be restructured using former opposition 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.
Syria's new rulers appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government.
Syrian opposition fighters seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war.
