HTS rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is named interim president of Syria
Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, was declared Syria's head of state for a transitional phase and empowered to form a new legislative council, state media reported Wednesday. After an Islamist rebel alliance toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime in December, their leader al-Sharaa took over as de facto leader.
Syria's new authorities announced Wednesday that Ahmed al-Sharaa, who took the helm after Bashar al-Assad's ouster last month, has been appointed interim president and tasked with forming a transitional legislature, state media reported.
A rebel alliance led by Sharaa's Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ousted Assad on December 8 after a lightning offensive, ending five decades of his family's iron-fisted rule, with a transitional government previously installed to steer the country until March 1.
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Sharaa was appointed "as the country's president in the transitional phase", state news agency SANA reported, quoting military official Hassan Abdel Ghani, without specifying a timeframe, adding that he would also represent the country "in international forums".
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