Syrian rebels elect transitional government leader

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Syrian rebels have tasked Mohammed Al-Bashir, a former head of rebel-held northwestern Syria, with forming a transitional government, The Brussels Times reported citing local television.

Al-Bashir will lead this government to manage the transition and “prevent the country from descending into chaos,” the report stated, without providing further details.

Rebels led by the Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) made rapid advances last week, prompting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to flee the country.

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani arrived in the capital, Damascus, on Sunday, and later met with Assad’s prime minister and vice president to discuss forming a new government.

Al-Bashir, an engineer from Idlib, had previously served as a minister in the rebel-controlled northwestern region of Syria. Earlier this year, he was appointed the head of the government in that area, which was supported and financed by HTS but lacked international recognition.

The decision to appoint Al-Bashir followed a meeting between him, HTS leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa (al-Jolani's real name), and current prime minister Ghazi al-Jalali, according to Arabiya TV.