Syrian rebel leader is named country’s interim president

The leader of Syria’s former rebels who toppled President Bashar Assad last month was named the country’s interim president on Wednesday as ex-insurgents also cancelled the existing constitution, saying a new charter would be drafted soon.

The appointment of Ahmad al-Sharaa, a rebel who was once aligned with al-Qaida, as the country’s president “in the transitional phase” came after a meeting of the insurgents in Damascus, the Syrian capital.

Al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist former insurgent group that led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad last month. The group was once affiliated with al-Qaida but has since denounced its former ties, and in recent years al-Sharaa has sought to cast himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance.

His appointment as president was made by the spokesperson for the de facto government’s military operations sector, Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani, the state-run SANA news agency said.

Abdul Ghani also announced the cancelation of the country’s constitution passed in 2012 under Assad’s rule and said al-Sharaa would be authorized to form a temporary legislative Council until a new constitution is drafted.

He also announced the dissolution of the armed factions in the country, which he said would be absorbed into state institutions.