Syria says ex-rebel groups agree to integrate under Defence Ministry

> Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has reached an agreement with rebel factions to come together as one force under the Defence Ministry, according to the new Syrian general administration.

> A meeting between al-Sharaa and the heads of the groups “ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the ministry of defence”, said a statement by the new administration on Tuesday.

> However, the Kurdish-led and United States-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) group in northeastern Syria is not part of the deal just announced.

> Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir had said last week that the ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Bashar al-Assad’s army.