Syria’s armed opposition forces, which seized power in Damascus, have tasked Syrian politician Mohammed al-Bashir with the responsibility of forming a transitional government in the country, Al Jazeera TV channel reported on Monday.
French daily Le Figaro reported earlier in the day, citing its unnamed sources, that Syria’s former Prime Minister Riyad Hijab was set to head the country’s government during the transitional period. Le Figaro reported that Hijab, who served as prime minister from June to August 2012, was poised to head the interim cabinet.
According to Al Jazeera, "Mohammed al-Bashir, the head of the so-called Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in Idlib, is expected to be selected as the head of Syria’s new transitional government."
"Mohammed al-Bashir was born in Idlib province, in northwestern Syria, in 1983 <…>, in January this year, he was named head of the so-called Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in Idlib <…>, before this appointment, al-Bashir was the SSG’s minister of development and humanitarian affairs from 2022 to 2023," Al Jazeera added.
On November 27, Syria’s armed opposition units launched a large-scale offensive on the positions of government forces in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib. By the evening of December 7, President Bashar Assad’s opponents had seized several large cities, including Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor, Daraa, and Homs.
On December 8, they entered the Syrian capital, Damascus, while the army withdrew from the city. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s statement, Syrian President Bashar Assad stepped down and left the country, issuing instructions to ensure a peaceful transition of power. A Kremlin source said later that Assad and his family members had arrived in Moscow as Russia had provided them with asylum based on humanitarian grounds.
