Ahmed Al-Shaara becomes interim president of Syria

The leader of Syria's rebels who toppled President Bashar Al-Assad last month was named the country's interim president on Wednesday.

Ahmad Al-Sharaa, a rebel once linked to Al-Qaeda, is the leader of the group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), designated a terrorist by the United States.

His appointment came after the former rebels annulled the existing Constitution, saying a new one would be drafted soon.

The announcement was made by the spokesman for the new military operations sector of Syria's de facto government, Colonel Hassan Abdul Ghani, the state news agency SANA reported.

Al-Sharaa was expected to appear in a televised speech after the meeting, but did not do so immediately and it remained unclear whether he would.

The exact mechanism by which he was elected interim president was also not clear.

Al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani, led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad in early December.

The group was once linked to Al-Qaeda, but has since distanced itself, and in recent years, Al-Sharaa has tried to portray itself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance and has promised to protect the rights of women and religious minorities.

The United States had previously placed a $10 million reward for Al-Sharaa's capture, but canceled it last month after a US delegation visited Damascus and met with him.

The top US diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, said after the meeting that Al-Sharaa was considered "pragmatic."

There was no immediate reaction from the Arab world or beyond to Al-Shaara's appointment, which was expected.

Western countries, although they have moved to restore ties with Damascus after the overthrow of Assad, are still somewhat wary of Syria's new Islamist rulers.

Abdul Ghani, the spokesman, also announced on Wednesday the annulment of the country's constitution - adopted in 2012, under Assad's rule - and said Al-Sharaa would be authorized to form an interim legislative council until a new constitution is drafted.

All armed factions in the country will be disbanded, Abdul Ghani said, and absorbed into state institutions.

Since the fall of Assad, HTS has become the de facto ruling party and has established an interim government composed largely of local government officials it previously led in rebel-held Idlib province.

The interim authorities have promised to launch a comprehensive process to create a new government and constitution, including calling a national dialogue conference and inviting Syria's various communities, although no date has been set.

While the former Syrian army collapsed with the fall of Assad, Al-Sharaa has called for the creation of a new unified national army and security forces, but questions have been raised about how the interim administration can unite a group of former rebel groups, each with its own leaders and ideology.

At the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos this month, Asaad al-Shibani, Syria's foreign minister and HTS official, said the country needs members of the international community as it begins reconstruction after 14 years of brutal civil war./ REL