A reminder: Y’all have been conquered. That means your only option is to surrender, so please get in with it. NOW.
[Rudaw] Syria’s defense minister announced on Saturday that all armed units have been integrated into the Ministry of Defense, unifying the country’s armed forces, though he gave "remaining small military groups" a ten-day deadline to complete the process."Today, we convey to our honorable people the news of the integration of all units into the Syrian Ministry of Defense," Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said in a post on X.
He said that the process to unify all the armed units under a single institutional structure began immediately following the end of the former regime.
"Given the importance of institutional work, we stress the need for the remaining small military groups to join the ministry within a maximum period of 10 days from the date of this announcement, in order to complete the efforts of unification and organization," he added, warning that any delay complying would be dealt with under the law.
In December, the rebel coalition, including Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...(HTS) that led the final offensive to oust Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
, agreed to merge into the Syrian defense ministry.
The Syrian Democratic forces (SDF), which control the northeast, signed an agreement with Damascus on March 10, to integrate "all civil and military institutions in northeast Syria [Rojava] under the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, the [Qamishli International] Airport, and oil and gas fields."
Despite this deal, Kurds in Rojava are concerned about key decisions the new authorities in Damascus have made to centralize authority. The Damascus leadership in late April censured SDF's call for federalism, saying it contradicts their agreement.
| The Times of Israel adds: |
The new administration also dissolved all armed factions including Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad in December.
Factions that agreed to dissolve were integrated into the defense ministry, and General Security, the country’s new police, opened the door to recruits as part of both institutions’ efforts to create a new army and security force.
Factions from Daraa in the south, as well as
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
-backed factions in the north and Islamist groups also joined the ministry’s forces.
These factions have retained their weapons and remain deployed in their areas of operation.
But HTS and Islamist groups aligned with it remain dominant, especially in their original stronghold in Idlib in the northwest and in Damascus.
Syria’s new authorities face major challenges preventing them from asserting control over all of the war-torn country, including the presence of gangs with varying loyalties.
The main challenge for Abu Qasra, who as a rebel commander led the offensive that overthrew Assad, is building a new national army.