Syria’s interim government begins to take shape

DAMASCUS

The figures of the transitional government in Syria have gradually begun to shape two weeks after the regime's collapse, with new appointments to the critical portfolios of foreign affairs and defense ministers.

"The general command announces the nomination of Mr Assaad Hassan al-Shibani to the post of minister in the new Syrian government," a statement said.

"He joined the Syrian revolution in 2011... and took part in founding the Salvation Government,” said the text posted on Telegram.

The Salvation Government, which has ministries, departments, judicial and security authorities, was set up in 2017 to assist people cut off from state services. Most of the new ministers in Syria are expected to come from this government.

Shibani graduated from Damascus University in English literature before taking a master's degree in political science and international relations in Türkiye. He graduated from Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University. The university said Shibani is currently continuing his doctoral studies.

Syria's new rulers also appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra as defense minister in the interim government.

Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Bashar al-Assad this month. He led numerous military operations during Syria's revolution, a source said.

Aisha al-Dibs has been appointed as the head of the women's affairs office in Syria's interim administration, which was established after the fall of the Baath regime.

Dibs has become the first female high-level official selected in the new administration.

Life begins to normalize in Syria, with residents continuing to celebrate newfound freedoms.

In Aleppo, thousands gathered to attend a concert organized by the London-based humanitarian organization, Syria Relief.

The four-hour concert featured renowned Syrian artist Yahya Hawwa with attendees enjoying an evening filled with music, revolutionary and resistance-themed songs and anthems.

At a Damascus intersection, young volunteers act as unofficial traffic cops after police assigned to the duty deserted their posts when Assad fell to a rapid rebel advance.

Some traffic officers abandoned their uniforms and motorbikes in the street on Dec. 8, the day the rebels took Damascus.

A local organization took action. It deployed more than 50 volunteers wearing orange vests labeled "Police.”