Space Travel News
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Syria gives holdout armed groups deadline to join state forces
Syria gives holdout armed groups deadline to join state forces
by AFP Staff Writers
Damascus (AFP) May 17, 2025

Syria's defence minister on Saturday gave holdout armed groups a 10-day deadline to join the war-torn country's forces, in the latest push to unify ranks following Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said all major armed factions had now been integrated into the defence ministry after the new authorities began working to bring them together, but he urged the remaining smaller groups to also join ranks.

"We emphasise the need for the remaining small military groups to join the ministry within a maximum period of 10 days from this announcement," the statement said.

The move was required "to complete the unification and organisation efforts", the statement said, adding "any delay will necessitate taking the appropriate measures according to the law".

It did not identify which groups had not joined the ministry or elaborate on what measures might be taken against any that failed to do so.

Syria's new authorities led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa have dissolved the army and security agencies linked to the Assad government.

The new administration also dissolved all armed factions including Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad in December.

Factions that agreed to dissolve were integrated into the defence ministry, and General Security, the country's new police, opened the door to recruits as part of both institutions' efforts to create a new army and security force.

Factions from Daraa in the south, as well as Turkey-backed factions in the north and Islamist groups also joined the ministry's forces.

These factions have retained their weapons and remain deployed in their areas of operation.

But HTS and Islamist groups aligned with it remain dominant, especially in their original stronghold in Idlib in the northwest and in Damascus.

Syria's new authorities face major challenges preventing them from asserting control over all of the war-torn country, including the presence of armed groups with varying loyalties.

The main challenge for Abu Qasra, who as a rebel commander led the offensive that overthrew Assad, is building a new national army.

HTS was known as Al-Nusra Front before it broke ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016. Several Western states still proscribe it as a "terrorist" organisation.

On Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani warned that postponing implementation of an agreement between Syria's new administration and Kurdish-led forces in the northeast would "prolong the chaos" in the country.

The March deal with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate the Kurdish administration's civil and military institutions is expected to be implemented by the end of the year.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Homeland Security asks to mobilize 20K National Guard troops for border enforcement
Washington DC (UPI) May 15, 2025
Pentagon lawyers are reviewing a request by the Department of Homeland Security for the Defense Department to activate 20,000 National Guard troops to enforce immigration laws as part of the Trump administration's effort to rein in illegal migration. The story was first reported by The New York Times on Thursday. "Defending the homeland and protecting U.S. territorial integrity is a fundamental DoD mission," a Defense Department spokesman told ABC News. "The Department will continue to w ... read more

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
What Martian Craters Reveal About Subsurface Composition

Europa Clipper Conducts Critical Mars Flyby for Instrument Calibration

Martian Atmosphere Enables Advanced In-Situ Thermoelectric Power Generation

Martian Seismic Data Suggests Potential Liquid Water Reserves at Depth

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Glass Beads Provide Insight into Moon's Mysterious Interior

Oracle-M Completes Successful Hot Fire Test for Cislunar Space Mission

ispace Achieves Key Mission 2 Milestone with Successful Lunar Orbit Entry

Moon becomes little more out of reach for NASA's VIPER rover

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Juno reveals subsurface secrets of Jupiter and Io

Planetary Alignment Provides NASA Rare Opportunity to Study Uranus

On Jupiter, it's mushballs all the way down

20 years of Hubble data reveals evolving weather patterns on Uranus

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Tracing ancient cyanobacteria reveals early origins of circadian clocks

Twin Star Systems May Hold Key to Planet Formation Insights

NASA Cleanroom Microbes Reveal Survival Strategies for Space and Biotech

Plato nears final camera installation for exoplanet hunt

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
China completes testing of powerful reusable liquid rocket engine

SpaceX sends up more Starlink satellites

SpaceX launches another batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit

EU faces heat over millions paid to Musk firms

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
China Establishes UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office at Wuhan University

Tiangong returns largest sample set yet for biological and materials science research

Space is a place to found a community not a colony

China's Shenzhou-19 astronauts return to Earth

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Ancient Scottish meteorite strike rewrites timeline of life on land

New analysis upends belief that asteroid Vesta has planetary interior

Carbon reactions during impacts reveal why meteorites seem less shocked

NASA's Lucy Spacecraft Images Asteroid Donaldjohanson

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.