Syria dissolves rebel factions as al-Sharaa consolidates power

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Syria’s rebel factions have agreed to disband and become part of the interim government’s Defense Ministry as the new administration races to consolidate power within revamped government institutions.

The commander-in-chief of the new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, former head of the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who previously used his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, announced the agreement on Tuesday after meeting with the chiefs. from groups including the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and factions in northeastern and southern Syria.

The government said the meeting resulted “in an agreement to dissolve all factions and merge them under the umbrella of the Ministry of Defense.”

The Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces were absent when they clashed with Turkish-backed rebels in the northeast following the breakdown of an initial Washington-brokered ceasefire there.

The interim government agreement was reached just over two weeks after the fall of autocratic former President Bashar al-Assad following a lightning offensive by HTS-led rebels after 13 years of brutal civil war. It comes as al-Sharaa seeks to consolidate its power over the fractured country.

He faces a daunting task. His group, HTS, has increasingly professionalized its forces through military academies and training, unlike more fractured allied rebel groups.

Security is a key issue for the new administration, which faces concerns including clashes between Turkish-backed rebels and the SDF; the threat of a resurgence of Isis, former enemies of HTS who were not part of Tuesday’s agreement; and the possibility of loyalists to the deposed regime regrouping after Assad disbanded his army before fleeing the country.

Sharaa’s government is rebuilding institutions such as police departments, the army and security forces. Over the past two weeks, it has opened applications for police employment and “settlement centers” for former regime troops.

It strives to maintain security across the country by deploying police and security personnel from its enclave in Idlib, a corner of northwestern Syria that has been under HTS control for years.

Security concerns increased this week, especially as unconfirmed reports spread of revenge killings in small villages and banditry on highways across the country.

In the northwestern Christian town of al-Suqaylabiyah on Monday, unknown assailants set fire to a large Christmas tree at a roundabout, further raising fears among Syria’s Christian minority of being targeted by Islamist groups. hard line.

Footage shared on social media showed an HTS member standing with two priests assuring the crowd in Suqaylabiyah that the tree would be repaired before morning.

Hundreds of people protested the act of vandalism across Syria on Tuesday. Protesters in the Bab Touma area of ​​Damascus were seen carrying crosses and marching through the streets. Elsewhere in Damascus, people shopped at a large open-air Christmas market.

Incidents such as the Christmas tree burning have so far been described as isolated cases by the new leadership, which has tried to present itself as a moderate administration for all Syrians despite its Islamist convictions and roots in jihadism.

But minority groups fear being marginalized and attacked, having enjoyed a degree of protection under Assad despite the widespread repression that characterized his rule.