The leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebel group that led the assault that ultimately toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime, has reached an agreement with other rebel leaders in its coalition to dissolve their factions and merge them under the Defense Ministry,

Syria’s rebel factions have agreed to disband and become part of the interim government’s defence ministry as the new administration rushes to consolidate power within revamped government institutions.