Former al Qaeda member named as Syria’s president for transitional period

We announce the appointment of Commander Ahmad al-Sharaa as head of state during the transitional period. 

He will assume the duties of the president of the Syrian Arab Republic and represent the country in international forums,” commander Hassan Abdel Ghani, spokesman for the Syria Military Operations Command, said in a statement Wednesday.CNN repirted.

“The president is authorized to form a temporary legislative council for the transitional phase, which will carry out its duties until a permanent constitution is enacted and put into effect,” Ghani added.

The command also announced several resolutions, including the suspension of the country’s constitution, the dissolution of the country’s parliament, and the dissolution of the former regime’s army and its Baath party.

Al - haraa was the leader of the main militant group that spearheaded the lightning offensive that led to the overthrow last year of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, whose regime had been in power for several decades.

His task now will be rebuilding a country torn apart by more than a decade of civil war that has killed more than 300,000 people and displaced millions more, according to the UN. 

The conflict broke out during the 2011 Arab Spring when the Assad regime suppressed a pro-democracy uprising and soon plunged into a full-scale war that pulled in other regional powers from Saudi Arabia and Iran to the United States and Russia and enabled ISIS to gain a foothold – for a while – in the country