Syria moves to disband armed factions, integrate them into Defense Ministry

Shafaq News/ The Syrian Interim Administration's Ministry of Defense announced, on Saturday, the start of organizational meetings with opposition armed faction leaders to integrate them into its ranks.

The decision follows an agreement reached last month between the country's de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and opposition leaders to disband all armed groups and unify them under a single ministry.

Earlier, al-Sharaa affirmed that Syria's future governance will include elections and that the Ministry of Defense will disband all armed factions. "No weapons will exist outside the authority of the state,” he explained.

He also called on world governments to remove Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra, from terrorism lists and lift all restrictions to “allow Syria to rebuild.”

Regarding his personal listing on a terrorism list, Al-Sharaa said, "It’s not important to me."