DAMASCUS: Tightening his hold on power less than two months after he led a campaign that toppled Bashar al-Assad, Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has been declared president for

The new leadership of the country said the rebel coalition leader, Ahmed al-Shara, would serve as president during a transitional period.

The commander appointed Mr Sharaa interim president, dissolved Mr Assad’s Baath Party, and announced the formation of a legislative council that will govern Syria until a new constitution can be agreed.

The Media Line's intrepid correspondents are in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan providing first-person reporting. After 54 years of Assad family rule, Syria enters a new era with Ahmed al-Sharaa as transitional president.

Sharaa was already de facto head of Syria's government ever since a coalition of rebel fighters swept through most of Syria and ousted Assad's regime.

Sharaa, who took the helm after longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad’s ouster last month, was appointed interim president and tasked with forming a transitional legislature, state media reported. Sharaa was appointed “as the country’s president in the transitional phase”,

For the first time in over five decades, Syria is under new leadership following the appointment of Ahmed al-Sharaa as transitional president. His official appointment was announced Wednesday in a speech attended by military faction leaders and government officials,