The visits came a day after Sharaa — also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani — met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, the highest-level visit from Lebanon to Syria to date. Arab states had responded cautiously to Assad’s fall and the takeover by HTS-led Islamist rebels.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reached an agreement with former rebel faction chiefs to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the defence 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.