Sessions to include armed factions in Syria within the Ministry of Defense begin

Syrian Defense Minister Marhaf Abu Qasra revealed on Monday that sessions had begun with military factions in a move aimed at including them within the Ministry of Defense, as part of the new administration’s efforts to limit weapons to the state and achieve stability in the organizational structure of the armed forces.

Abu Qasra said in press statements reported by the official Syrian news agency, SANA: "We have started sessions with the military factions in order to develop steps for their integration into the Ministry of Defense."

According to the minister, this step comes "within the directives of the General Command to restructure the armed forces and organize the Syrian Arab Army."

The Minister of Defense in the Syrian caretaker government indicated that these sessions "aim to develop a roadmap to achieve stability in the organizational structure of the armed forces."

Last week, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the Ministry of Defense had begun holding organizational sessions with military leaders in order to begin the process of integrating factions into the ministry.

This comes after the confirmation by the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, of the Ministry of Defense’s intention to dissolve all factions in order to limit weapons to the state.

Al-Sharaa, known as “al-Julani,” said in press statements he made last December that “there will be no weapons outside the authority of the Syrian state.”

At dawn on Sunday, December 8, 2024, the Syrian opposition factions entered the capital, Damascus, and took control of it, with the withdrawal of regime forces from public institutions and streets, thus ending a 61-year era of Baath Party rule and 53 years of Assad family rule.

Before that, on November 27, battles began between the Syrian regime forces and opposition factions in the western countryside of Aleppo Governorate, during which the factions were able to extend their control over the city of Aleppo and Idlib Governorate. In the following days, they took control of the cities of Hama, Daraa, Sweida, Homs, Latakia, and finally Damascus.

Arabic21