DOHA, December 17. /TASS/. Syria’s new authorities plan to fill the country’s Defense Ministry with militants from the opposition’s armed formations that came to power as well as officers who deserted from the military under the old regime, head of the country’s transitional government Mohammed al-Bashir told Al Jazeera.

"The Defense Ministry will be reorganized and restructured by including revolutionaries and officers that deserted the toppled regime," he noted.

"Most of [the ministry’s] staff have either laid down their arms and fled or returned to their homes. These are people who committed violent crimes," al-Bashir added. According to him, security is currently being ensured by operatives from the state security service of the Interior Ministry in the so-called Syrian Salvation Government which functioned in the country’s northwest. "This unit is now entering liberated cities and ensuring security and stability," the head of Syria’s transitional government said.

Speaking of the future fate of the former government’s security operatives, he clarified that Syria’s new authorities opened centers where they can address their status and surrender their weapons. "We distributed notices that those who were not involved in violence and turned in their arms will be safe," al-Bashir added. "These people must go through certain procedures and obtain documents confirming that they can move about without anyone attacking them," he explained.

In late November, armed opposition units launched a large-scale offensive on positions held by Syrian government forces in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces, capturing several major cities: Aleppo, Hama, Deraa, and Homs. On December 8, they entered Damascus, prompting government troops to withdraw from the capital. Bashar Assad stepped down as Syrian president and left the country. On December 10, Mohammed al-Bashir, who had led the so-called Syrian Salvation Government in the Idlib Province since January 2024, announced his appointment as head of Syria’s interim government. The interim period is expected to last until March 1, 2025.