Sharaa and the heads of rebel factions agreed Tuesday to merge the groups under the Ministry of Defense, according to a statement from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebel group that led the charge to topple dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Assad, old alliances have crumbled, and global powers are figuring out their relationships with Syria’s new de facto leaders.

Protests in Christian neighborhoods of Syria's capital city erupted after a Christmas tree was set ablaze weeks after the downfall of the nation's longtime dictatorship, according to multiple reports.

The Pentagon announced the US currently has “approximately 2,000” troops in Syria, more than double the previously disclosed number of 900, a Defense Department spokesperson said at a press briefing on Thursday.

During the course of Syria’s brutal civil war, Assad used chemical weapons more than 300 times against his own citizens, causing thousands of casualties. The worst such attack was a barrage of sarin-filled rockets launched against the Damascus suburb of Ghouta in August 2013 that killed an estimated 1,

Will he walk the walk and not just talk the talk? And if he doesn’t win in the elections, will he peacefully stand aside for whoever does win?” one analyst said.

In the past week, the Pentagon has acknowledged that its footprint in Iraq and Syria is bigger than it has claimed for years

Years of strife ruined the energy sector, battered the currency and strangled growth. The West must ease financial controls to help the economy, experts say.

The Pentagon says the United States doubled the number of forces in Syria to fight the Islamic State group before the overthrow of President Bashar Assad’s government

The high-level delegation arrived to engage in talks with Syria's interim leadership, the State Department confirmed early Friday.

"I believe there will be violent fighting, the end of which we do not know," a top Syrian Democratic Council official told Newsweek.

After public protests and then rebellion erupted in Syria in 2011, Assad’s regime clung to power through systemic torture and relentless military campaigns with support from Iran, Russia, and an array of allied militias.