Syria on Wednesday gave a new step in its transition process with the designation of Ahmed al Sharaa as president of the country to lead this period and the dissolution of military factions with the aim of integrating them under the same command, in addition to disintegrating the BAAZ party , the formation of Bachar al Assad.
The spokesman for the Syrian military operations command, Colonel Hasan Abdelgani, announced this afternoon the appointment of Al Sharaa as president of the Syria during the transition phase and attributed “the functions of the Presidency of the Arab Syrian Republic”, among which he highlighted His role as representative of the country in international forums.
In his statement, reproduced by the official television channel Syriatv, he added that these functions are already in force and will be extended “until a permanent constitution is adopted,” and explained that, with this position, Sharaa must “form a legislative council interim for the selective phase ”.
Extinction of military factions
Among the measures announced by Abdelgani is also the dissolution of military factions for integration into state institutions with the objective of constituting a common army under the same command.
However, he did not clarify if this solution also affects the liberation agency of the Levante (Hayat Tahrir al Sham or HTS, in Arabic), a faction directed by the newly appointed president for the transition of Syria, Ahmed al Sharaa, and who led the offensive which ended up overthrowing the Bachar al Assad regime.
With this integration, the new Syrian administration also meets the purpose of obtaining the monopoly of weapons and preventing militias or groups from having access to them.
The decision to end the militias comes in parallel to the dissolution of the army of the Bachar al Assad regime and all the security forces linked to him with the aim of forming new institutions and burying the vestiges of the deposed president.
End of the historic Baaz party
The formation of Bachar al Assad was direct target of the new Syrian authorities, who ordered their dissolution, although the party itself announced last December the cessation of its activities “until again notice” after the fall of the regime.
“We announce the dissolution of the Baaz Socialist Party, as well as the parties of the Progressive National Front and all the agencies and committees to which they belong and it is forbidden to form again under any other name,” said Abdelgani.
Founded in 1947 by the nationalists Michel Aflaq and Salaheddine Bitar, the Baaz defended a panárabe union under the banner of Arab socialism. However, in Syria, the formation ended up under the control of the family to Assad, from the coup d’etat of Hafez al Assad in 1970.
After Hafez’s death to Assad, his son, Bachar al Assad, took the reins of the game until his escape from Syria on December 8.
With these measures, the new Syrian administration seeks to bury the vestiges of the Al Assad regime to rebuild the country from its foundations, without influences of the previous regime, in a process of transition of indeterminate duration, although Sharaa was a televised interview in a televised interview that the organization of elections could be delayed up to four years.
