Sharaa and the heads of rebel factions agreed Tuesday to merge the groups under the Ministry of Defense, according to a statement from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebel group that led the charge to topple dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reached an agreement on Tuesday with former rebel faction chiefs to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the defence ministry, according to a statement from the new administration.

The various rebel factions will be integrated into the country’s regular forces under a new ministry of defense.