Mohammad al-Bashir appointed Interim Prime Minister of Syria

The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS rebels in Syria, appointed Mohammad al-Bashir as the transitional Prime Minister of Syria on 10 December 2024 after Bashar al-Assad's government fell on 8 December 2024. Mohammad al-Bashir will remain the head of the transitional government in Syria until 1st March 2025. 

Mohammad al-Bashir is part of the rebel jihadist organisation HTS that swept into the capital, Damascus, on 8 December 2024, bringing to an end five decades of rule by Assad’s family. 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled from the country and is believed to be in Moscow, Russia, which was the biggest supporter of the Assad government and maintains a military base in the country. 

Civil War in Syria and Rule of the Assad Regime

The Baath Party has ruled Syria since 1963 till the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government in December 2024. The Baath Party advocated the formation of a single Arab Socialist Nation by combining all Arab countries. The Baath Party came to power in two Arab countries, Syria and Iraq, in 1963 and 1968, respectively.

The Soviet Union and, later, Russia have been major supporters of the Baath Party, which has traditionally been anti-American and anti-Western. 

Saddam Hussien, President of Iraq, was overthrown from power by an American-led coalition in the 2003 war.

In 1970, Hafeez al-Assad seized power in Syria and was elected President in 1971. He remained President until his death in 2000, and his son Bashar al-Assad succeeded him after his death in 2000. 

Bashar al-Assad continued his father’s authoritarian rule.

In 2011, anti-government protests erupted in Syria, inspired by the democracy movement in West Asia and North Africa, popularly known as the Arab Spring.

The protest was brutally crushed by the Assad regime, and later in the year, an armed movement under the Syrian National Army banner emerged in the country backed by Western countries.

In 2013, the Islamic terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) emerged in eastern Syria and western Iraq.

The Russians intervened in the civil war in 2015 and conducted military strikes on rebels. 

Iran, which had close ties with the Assad regime, sent Hezbollah fighters to Syria to fight the Syrian rebels.

Hezbollah is a militant Shia group in Lebanon which is financed, trained and backed by Iran.

By 2017, the Assad regime had regained control over major cities of Syria with the military support of Russia and Hezbollah.

The rebels were confined to the Idlib region of Syria and were protected by Turkish forces. 

The Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an organisation influenced by the ideology of al-Qaeda, consolidated its hold in the Idlib region of Syria.

Weakening of the Assad  Regime 

Due to the protracted Russian-Ukraine war, the Russian ability to support the Assad regime was considerably weakened. The Israeli-Hezbollah war also compelled Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters from Syria to Lebanon.

The diminishing military support of its key allies led to the collapse of the Bashar regime. 

Taking advantage, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group launched a military offensive against the Assad government on 27 November and quickly captured the major Syrian cities of Aleppo, Hama and finally, Damascus on 8 December.

About  Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)

The Islamic militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was established as 

Jabhat al-Nusra in 2011 as an affiliate of al-Qaeda in Syria by Abu Muhammad al-Jolani. It was opposed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

In July 2016,  al-Jolani announced the dissolution of Jabhat al-Nusra and the establishment of a new group, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.

It also publicly distanced itself from the terrorist group al-Qaeda.

In  January 2017, many other Islamic groups in Syria merged with Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and established Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The Sunni Islamic group HTS is committed to establishing Islamic rule in Syria, expelling Iranian-backed Shia militia and liberation of Jerusalem from Israel.

Despite the group's claim that it has nothing to do with al-Qeada, many countries believe it still has ties with al-Qaeda and is seen as a fanatic Islamic group.

The HTS has been declared a terrorist group by the United Nations, the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey and others.

About the Syrian Arab Republic or  Syria 

The Syrian Arab Republic, or Syria, is located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea of West Asia.

It gained its independence in 1946 after the withdrawal of the French troops.

In 1958, Syria and Egypt formed a political union named the United Arab Republic, which ended in September 1968.

Israel captured the Golan Heights of Syria during the six-day Israel-Arab war of 1967.

Capital: Damascus(famous as the Pearl of the East).

Currency: Syrian Pound