Media Wire

Syria’s new rulers name HTS figures as foreign, defence ministers

Syria’s new rulers have appointed foreign and defense ministers, the official news agency SANA has reported, as they work to establish international relations following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.

The ruling General Command on Saturday named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister.

A source in the new administration told the Reuters news agency that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability”.

Murhaf Abu Qasra was named defence minister in the interim government, an official source told Reuters. Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which led the opposition forces that forced out al-Assad.

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Damascus, said Abu Qasra and al-Shibani were “very much close” to HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

“This is raising questions whether HTS is forming its own government or Syria’s government,” he noted, adding, “So far, 14 ministers have been appointed, and all of them are close allies or friends of al-Sharaa.”

Al-Sharaa, Syria’s new de facto ruler, has actively engaged with foreign delegations since assuming power, including hosting the Syria envoy of the United Nations and senior United States diplomats.

He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.

Syrian opposition fighters seized control of Damascus on December 8, forcing President al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.

Forces under the command of al-Sharaa have installed a three-month caretaker government.

Washington designated al-Sharaa a “terrorist” in 2013, saying al-Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing al-Assad. US officials said on Friday that Washington would remove a $10m bounty on his head.

The war killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times, and left cities bombed to rubble and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

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