Syria says ex-rebel groups agree to integrate under Defence Ministry
Al Jazeera
De facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa says factions agreed to disband following a meeting with the heads of the groups.
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has reached an agreement with rebel factions to come together as one force under the Defence Ministry, according to the new Syrian general administration.
A meeting between al-Sharaa and the heads of the groups “ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the ministry of defence”, said a statement by the new administration on Tuesday.
However, the Kurdish-led and United States-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) group in northeastern Syria is not part of the deal just announced.
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.
“Since the fall of the Assad regime, this is perhaps the most important development that has happened in Syria,” said Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Damascus. He explained that immediately after the fall of al-Assad’s regime, opposition fighters from across the country streamed into Damascus, with some of them claiming different territories of the capital.
Ukrainian source reportedly says the killing ‘was a ‘special operation” by Ukraine’s SBU security service.
Russia and North Korea have not commented on Ukraine’s claim some 30 North Korean troops have been killed or injured.
Israel’s military says it is targeting military sites in Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Ahmed Allouh is the third journalist killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours.
Remaining displaced, many women and children, reportedly being forced out of Khalil Oweida School by Israeli forces.
Israel launches deadly strikes across the Gaza Strip amid regional diplomatic push for ceasefire and captives deal.
Two separate reports by media freedom organisations found Israel killed an unprecedented number of journalists.
Tomb of Hafez al-Assad, father of removed president, torched as new PM pledges peace after 13 years of war.
Health Ministry warns patients could die from lack of food, water as UN official briefs Security Council on conditions.
As Syria’s longtime leader gets shelter in Moscow, analysts say Russia’s Middle East ambitions are likely to continue.
In 2024, about half of Syria’s registered refugees live in Turkiye, followed by Lebanon, Germany, Jordan and Iraq.