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Rebel factions in Syria have agreed to disband themselves and become part of the interim government's Defense Ministry as the new administration rushes to consolidate its power within revamped government institutions.
The commander-in-chief of the new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa – the former head of the Islamist opposition group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, who previously used his nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Julani – announced the agreement on Tuesday after meeting with the heads of groups including the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and factions in the northeast. And southern Syria.
The government said that the meeting resulted in “an agreement to dissolve all factions and merge them under the umbrella of the Ministry of Defense.”
The US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were absent when they clashed with Turkish-backed rebels in the northeast after the initial Washington-brokered ceasefire there collapsed.
The interim government agreement was reached just over two weeks after the fall of former authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad following a blitz by rebels led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham after 13 years of brutal civil war. This comes at a time when Al-Sharaa seeks to consolidate his authority in the torn country.
He faces a daunting task. His group, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, has increasingly professionalized its forces through military academies and training, in contrast to more fragmented allied rebel groups.
Security is a key issue for the new administration, which faces concerns including clashes between Turkish-backed rebels and the Syrian Democratic Forces; the threat of a resurgence of ISIS, long-time enemies of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham who were not part of Tuesday's agreement; And the possibility that loyalists to the ousted regime will regroup after Assad disbanded his army before fleeing the country.
The Shara government is integrating institutions such as the police departments, the army, and the security forces. Over the past two weeks, applications for police jobs and “resettlement centers” for former regime forces have been opened.
It is striving to maintain security across the country by deploying security and police personnel from its enclave in Idlib, a corner of northwest Syria that has been under the control of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham for years.
Concerns about security have increased this week, especially as unconfirmed reports of revenge killings in small villages and highway banditry spread across the country.
On Monday, in the Christian town of Suqaylabiyah in the northwest of the country, unidentified assailants set fire to a large Christmas tree on a roundabout, raising fears among Syria's Christian minority of being targeted by militant Islamist groups.
Footage circulated on social media showed a member of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham standing with two priests to reassure the crowd in Suqaylabiyah that the tree would be repaired before morning.
Hundreds of people protested against acts of sabotage across Syria on Tuesday. Demonstrators were seen in the Bab Touma area of Damascus carrying crosses and marching through the streets. Elsewhere in Damascus, people shop at a large outdoor Christmas market.
Incidents such as the burning of a Christmas tree have so far been described as isolated cases by the new leadership, which has sought to portray itself as a moderate administration for all Syrians despite its Islamist convictions and jihadist roots.
But minorities fear being marginalized and attacked, having enjoyed a certain degree of protection under Assad despite the widespread repression that characterized his rule.
