The dismantled Assad regime in Syria’s Prime Minister has announced that he has agreed to transfer power to the “Salvation Government” led by rebel forces on Monday (December 9). A day earlier, Syrian rebels captured the capital city of Damascus, forcing Assad to flee to Russia.
According to Reuters, Mohammed Jalali, the Prime Minister of the Assad government, told Al Arabiya of Saudi Arabia that he has agreed to transfer power to the “Salvation Government”. This opposition regime was established in November 2017, composed of “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” and other Syrian opposition groups, previously controlling a small piece of territory in northwestern Syria.
Jalali stated that the process of transferring power may take several days to complete.
An informed source told Reuters that the rebel commander, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, held a late-night meeting with Jalali and Vice President Faisal Mekdad to discuss transitional government matters.
Al Jazeera reported that the transitional power structure will be led by Mohamed al-Bashir, who managed the “Salvation Government” before the 12-day lightning offensive that swept through Damascus.
The “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” was once a branch of Al-Qaeda and is still classified as a terrorist organization by the United Nations. However, the organization has been attempting to soften its image over the years to appease foreign and minority groups within Syria.
The United States had detained the organization’s leader, al-Golani, as a rebel for many years in Iraq. However, he later severed ties with Al-Qaeda and ISIS, pledging to rebuild Syria.