By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-12-17 07:01:37 | Updated at 2024-12-17 09:43:05
2 hours ago
Syria’s rebel factions will be “disbanded”, the head of the group that led the ouster of Bashar al-Assad has pledged, as the former president denounced the country’s new rulers as “terrorists”.
Assad fled Syria on December 8, as rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured the capital Damascus, ending decades of brutal dictatorship and years of civil war.
HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, has sought to reassure minorities at home and governments abroad that the country’s interim leaders will protect all Syrians, as well as state institutions.
Meeting Monday with members of the Druze community, he said all rebel factions would “be disbanded and the fighters trained to join the ranks of the defence ministry”.
“All will be subject to the law,” he added, according to posts on the group’s Telegram channel.
He also emphasised the need for unity in the multi-ethnic and multi-confessional country.
