Mohammed Al-Bashir Named Caretaker Prime Minister By Syrian Fighters

Syrian fighters who toppled President Bashar al-Assad have appointed Mohammed al-Bashir as the country’s caretaker prime minister.

Al-Bashir, who headed the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham-led de facto government in Idlib province, will lead a transitional Syrian government until March 1, 2025, he said on Tuesday in a televised statement.

“Today we held a cabinet meeting that included a team from the [Syrian] Salvation Government [SSG] that was working in Idlib and its vicinity, and the government of the ousted regime,” al-Bashir said.

“The meeting was under the headline of transferring the files and institutions to caretake the government.”

The appointment comes after al-Bashir met with members of al-Assad‘s government.

The incoming leader was flanked by two flags as he spoke on TV: the green, black and white flag flouted by opponents of al-Assad throughout the civil war; and a white flag with the Islamic oath of faith in black writing.

Al-Bashir headed the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in Idlib province before the 12-day lightning offensive swept into Damascus, toppling longtime leader al-Assad and ending more than half a century of al-Assad family rule.

Al-Bashir has close ties to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – the group that led the Damascus takeover – which is tied to the SSG he headed.

The SSG, with its own ministries, departments, judicial and security authorities, was set up in the northwest bastion of Idlib in 2017 to assist people in the rebel-held area who were cut off from government services.

Al-Bashir also previously held the role of development minister in the SSG.

The SSG has begun rolling out assistance in Aleppo, the first major city to fall from government hands after opposition forces began their offensive.

HTS’s leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, met outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali on Monday to discuss the transition to a caretaker government.

As the caretaker prime minister was announced, life in the Syrian capital showed some signs of a return to normalcy, with banks and shops reopening.

The steps towards government formation come amid intense air strikes from Israel targeting bases of the Syrian army, whose forces melted away in the face of the rebel advance that ousted al-Assad.

Al Jazeera/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma