BEIRUT: Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has tapped several former rebels for high-ranking army positions, several of whom are foreign fighters, a war monitor and experts said on Monday.

The new authorities in Damascus, from the ranks of religious-led rebels who until several weeks ago had fought to overthrow longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, now face the daunting task of rebuilding state institutions.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, during an unannounced visit to Damascus, urged new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday to expel Russia from the country. Russia is now seeking to secure the fate of its naval base in Tartus and its air base at Hmeimim — both on Syria’s Mediterranean coast and Moscow’s only military outposts outside the former Soviet Union — with the new Syrian authorities.

The Syrian army has effectively collapsed, much like other institutions set up by the Assad clan and their notorious security apparatuses. The new leadership last week unveiled an accord to dissolve the myriad of armed groups operating in Syria and integrate them into the defence ministry, and has now named some prospective army officers.

Ukrainian FM urges end to Russia’s presence during his visit to Damascus

A decree published on the Telegram account of Sharaa’s General Command listed 49 people to be made commanders, in the first such announcement since the fall of the Assad government on Dec 8. It said the appointments were part of efforts aimed at “the development and modernisation of the military... in order to guarantee security and stability”.

The names include former rebels, some from Sharaa’s religious group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as well as ex-army officers who had deserted to join the opposition in the early days of Syria’s civil war.

Haid Haid, consulting fellow at Britain-based think tank Chatham House, said that “the top seven highest ranks of those promoted seem to be all from HTS.” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said many of those appointed were close to Sharaa, including at least six foreigners either from HTS or aligned with it.

Ready to repair ties

Moscow was one of former president Bashar al-Assad’s key backers, intervening to help to turn the tide of Syria’s civil war in his favour in 2015. The ex-president’s toppling was seen as a major setback for Russia, which has been waging a full-scale invasion of Ukraine since 2022.

“The Russian and Assad regimes supported each other because they were based on violence and torture,” Sybiga said, according to a statement. “We believe that from a strategic point of view, the removal of Russia’s presence in Syria will contribute to the stability of not only the Syrian state, but the entire Middle East and Africa.” Sybiga said Kyiv was ready to repair ties with Syria that were ruptured when Assad recognised the Kremlin’s annexation of Ukrainian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement separately that his country had sent its first shipment of food aid, 500 tonnes of wheat flour, to Syria, and that it would arrive on Tuesday. “We support the Syrian people in overcoming decades of dictatorial rule and restoring stability, security, and normal life in Syria,” he said in the post on social media. Despite the war, Ukraine is one of the world’s top wheat producers.

Despite Moscow’s backing for Assad, Sharaa on Sunday noted the “deep strategic interests between Russia and Syria” in an interview with the Al-Arabiya TV channel. “All Syria’s arms are of Russian origin, and many power plants are managed by Russian experts... We do not want Russia to leave Syria in the way that some wish,” Sharaa added.

‘Broader participation’

Haid said that “HTS has been able to position its members, as well as those who are close to it, to be the ones leading the defence ministry, the future army, as well as the ones leading the restructuring of this army.” HTS is rooted in the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda and proscribed a terrorist organisation by numerous governments, but has sought to soften its image in recent years. In its Idlib stronghold, HTS has long battled fighters from the militant Islamic State group which was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019.

In Sunday’s decree, two men were given the rank of general, five were made brigadier generals and around 40 made colonels. One of the generals is HTS’s military chief Murhaf Abu Qasra, who has been tipped to become defence minister in the transitional government.

Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory, said that “most of those who have been promoted are people within Ahmed al-Sharaa’s inner circle”.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2024