ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The interior ministry of Syria’s transitional government has issued a decree granting military ranks to several foreign nationals, a move signed by de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, according to a war monitor and an expert. The decree, issued Sunday, listed 49 individuals, including former rebels from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who led the offensive that toppled the Bashar al-Assad regime, and ex-army officers from the Assad era who joined rebels during the early years of the Syrian civil war. Aymenn al-Tamimi, an expert on the Syrian conflict, told AFP that the list includes a Uyghur, a Jordanian, and a Turk. The decree states the promotions are “within the framework of starting the process of developing and modernizing the army and armed forces” and to “enhance confidence in the capabilities of the Syrian Arab Army with all its components.” “Most of those who have been promoted are people within Ahmed al-Sharaa's inner circle,” AFP cited Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), as saying. Two individuals were promoted to the rank of major general, five to brigadier general, and 40 to colonel. SOHR reported that at least six of them are “foreign jihadists” and that most are from the HTS while others belong to “allied factions.” Last week, Murhaf Abu Qasra, a prominent HTS commander, was appointed to lead the defense ministry. On Tuesday, rebel groups agreed to dissolve and merge into the country’s defense ministry. Thousands of former Syrian soldiers have also surrendered to HTS under a national reconciliation process aimed at reintegrating Assad's former forces into the new administration.
