The new government in Syria said on December 24 that it had reached an agreement with leaders of opposition groups in the country to disband the groups and unite under the common defense force, according to AFP.
Images released by SANA news agency show leader Ahmed al-Sharaa standing among the leaders of several armed opposition groups, but there is no presence of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Kurds lead in northeastern Syria.
Syrian armed factions agreed to merge under the Ministry of Defense
The meeting “ended with an agreement on the dissolution of all groups and their merger under the supervision of the defense ministry,” according to a statement from the Syrian interim government. The SDF’s reaction to the above announcement is unclear.
On December 22, Mr. al-Sharaa said that the new government will “absolutely not allow weapons in the country outside of state control”, including weapons from the SDF.
Mr. Ahmed al-Sharaa (center), de facto leader of Syria, in the capital Damascus on December 23
Last week, the military leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) force led by al-Sharaa said that areas controlled by the Kurds would be brought under the leadership of the new government and “Syria”. will not be divided”.
In another development, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari on December 24 called for a quick lifting of sanctions against Syria, after HTS led the opposition military force to overthrow President Bashar al. -Assad.
“We call for increased efforts to promote the lifting of international sanctions against Syria,” according to Mr. al-Ansari.
Qatar’s call came a day after a high-level delegation from the country visited Damascus (Syria). The Qatar Embassy here reopened on December 22, ending a 13-year rift between the two countries.
