Damascus:
Syrian rebels now in power in Damascus have appointed Mohammad al-Bashir as head of a transitional government that will last until March 1, state media said on Tuesday.
On Sunday, rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured the capital Damascus in a lightning offensive, overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad, who fled the country.
“The General Command has instructed us to lead the transitional government until March 1,” said a statement attributed to Bashir on state television's Telegram account, referring to him as “the new Syrian prime minister.”
Before being tapped for this role, he was head of the so-called Rescue Government of the rebels in northwestern Syria and previously held the role of Minister of Development Cooperation.
Also on Tuesday, a source within the Political Affairs Department of the Rescue Government told AFP Bashir would lead the transitional government.
The Rescue Government, with its own ministries, departments, judicial and security authorities, was established in the Idlib bastion in 2017 to help people in the rebel-held area, people cut off from government services.
Since then, the country has begun rolling out aid in Aleppo, the first major city to fall from government control after the rebels began their offensive.
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