As the fighters who ousted Bashar al-Assad set out to assert control over the country, they pursued former government forces loyal to the Assad regime, resulting in deadly clashes in parts of the country.

Sharaa and the heads of rebel factions agreed Tuesday to merge the groups under the Ministry of Defense, according to a statement from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebel group that led the charge to topple dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reached an agreement with former rebel faction chiefs to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the defence ministry.