Syria’s new rulers name HTS commander who was a leading figure in insurgency as defence minister

DAMASCUS – Syria’s new rulers have appointed Mr Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency which toppled former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, as defence minister in the interim government, an official source said on Dec 21.

Mr Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Mr Assad earlier in December. He led numerous military operations during Syria’s revolution, the source said.

Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed “the form of the military institution in the new Syria” during a meeting with armed factions on Dec 21, state news agency Sana reported.

During the meeting, Mr Abu Qasra sat next to Mr Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, photos published by Sana showed.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said this week that the Defence Ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Mr Assad’s army.

Mr Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated administration in the north-western province of Idlib, has said he will lead a three-month transitional government. The new administration has not declared plans for what will happen after that.

Earlier on Dec 21,

the ruling General Command named Mr Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister

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

Mr Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, previously led the political department of the rebels’ Idlib government, the General Command said.

Mr Sharaa’s group was part of Al-Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016. It had been confined to Idlib for years until going on the offensive in late November, sweeping through the cities of western Syria and into Damascus as the army melted away.

Mr Sharaa met a number of international envoys last week. 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 rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec 8, forcing Mr Assad to flee

after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.

Washington had designated Mr Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying Al-Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Mr Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic syariah law in Syria. US officials said on Dec 20 that

Washington would remove a US$10 million (S$13.5 million) bounty on his head

.

The war has 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. REUTERS