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Syrian rebel groups have agreed to disband and become part of the interim government's defense ministry as the new administration rushes to consolidate power in the reformed government.
The head of the new administration Ahmed al-Sharaa – the former head of the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who previously used the name Abu Mohammed al-Jolani – announced the agreement on Tuesday after meeting with the heads of the groups included. The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and groups in northeastern and southern Syria.
The government said the meeting resulted in an “agreement to disband all parties and merge under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence”.
Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian forces were absent as they clashed with Turkish-backed rebels in the northeast after Washington's cease-fire there broke down.
The interim government agreement was reached less than two weeks after the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad following a terrorist attack by HTS rebels after 13 years of civil war. It comes as al-Sharaa seeks to consolidate power over the fractured country.
You are facing a difficult task. His group, HTS, has increasingly expanded its forces through military and training facilities, unlike splinter 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, HTS's long-time enemies who were not part of Tuesday's deal; and a chance for those loyal to the ousted government to regroup after Assad disbanded his army before fleeing the country.
The Sharaa government combines institutions such as the police, military and security departments. In the past two weeks, it has opened applications for police jobs and “settlement centers” for ex-servicemen.
It is trying to maintain security across the country by deploying security forces and police from its base in Idlib, a northwestern corner of Syria that has been under HTS control for years.
Concerns about security have grown this week, especially as unconfirmed reports have spread of revenge killings in small villages and highway robberies across the country.
On Monday, in the northwestern Christian town of al-Suqaylabiyah, a large Christmas tree in a suburb was set on fire by unknown assailants, further raising fears among Syria's Christian minority who are being targeted by hardline Islamist groups.
Images shared on social media showed an HTS member standing with two clerics assuring a crowd in al-Suqaylabiyah that the tree would be repaired before dawn.
Hundreds of people protested the desecration of Syria on Tuesday. Protesters in the Bab Touma area of Damascus were seen carrying crosses as they marched through the streets. Elsewhere in Damascus, people were shopping at a large open-air Christmas market.
Incidents such as the burning of the Christmas tree have so far been described as isolated cases by the new leader, who has sought to present himself as a moderate government for all Syrians despite their Islamist beliefs and roots in jihadism.
But minority groups fear being marginalized and attacked, having enjoyed some protection under Assad despite the widespread repression that characterizes his rule.