Ministry of Defense in Syria’s caretaker government initiates organizational meetings with military leaders
(MENAFN) The Ministry of Defense in Syria’s caretaker government has initiated organizational meetings with military leaders to begin integrating armed factions into the ministry, while the Department of Military Operations continues its security campaign to track down remnants of the Assad Regime in Homs, located in central Syria. The Syrian news agency SANA published images of a meeting led by the caretaker defense minister, Major General Marhaf Abu Qusra, with various faction leaders. Sources reported that the discussions focused on the formation of a new military structure and the nomination of officers for the General Staff, though a commander for the staff has yet to be named. More meetings are expected to follow.
Factions involved in the removal of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have reportedly agreed to disband once the structure of the new military institution is finalized. After a meeting with the leaders of military factions and the commander of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Shara, the Military Operations Department announced that all factions would dissolve and merge under the Ministry of Defense. In parallel, the Ministry of Interior is collaborating with the Department of Military Operations on a combing campaign in Homs and its outskirts to locate remnants of the Assad regime. Some areas, such as Wadi al-Dahab, have been cleared, while operations continue in neighborhoods like al-Zahra, al-Abbasiya, and al-Muhajireen.
During the campaign, several arrests were made, including 28 members of the regime accused of involvement in the Karm al-Zaytoun massacre of 2012. The operations have led to occasional clashes with forces loyal to the former president, who have resisted surrendering their weapons. Additionally, the General Security Department seized an ammunition depot in the Zahra neighborhood and arrested significant figures, such as Muhammad Noureddine Shalhoum, a former surveillance camera official at Sednaya prison, and Saher al-Naddaf, a field commander responsible for numerous crimes.
Since the fall of the Assad regime in December, military settlement centers have been opened for the regime’s elements, but many have refused to surrender, leading to sporadic clashes. Meanwhile, mass graves have been uncovered, including one in the vicinity of the ninth division in Al-Sanamayn, revealing remains over 10 years old, while another grave discovered in Daraa on December 16 contained the bodies of 31 people, including women and children, linked to a militia affiliated with military security.
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