Syria sets deadline for small groups' merger

Syria's defence minister has called on small armed groups that have yet to merge with the security apparatus to do so within 10 days or face unspecified measures, in a bid to consolidate state authority six months after Bashar Al Assad was toppled.

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A plethora of weapons outside government control has posed a challenge to interim President Ahmed Al Sharaa’s efforts to establish control, as groups that both back him and oppose him remain armed.

Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, in a statement late on Saturday, said “military units” had now been integrated into “a unified institutional framework,” calling this a great achievement.

“We stress the need for the remaining small military groups to join the ministry within a maximum period Of 10 days from the date of this announcement, in order to complete the efforts of unification and organisation,” he said.

He did not say which factions he was talking about.