Syrian rebels name new PM as outside powers move to shore up interests

A man selling opposition flags at a market inside the old walled city of Damascus. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

Syria’s leading rebel group has named a new prime minister to head the country’s transitional government as outside powers move to shore up their interests in the wake of the Assad regime’s collapse.

The new prime minister, Mohammad al-Bashir, previously ran an administration in Idlib under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the strongest of the rebel groups which have moved into Damascus and other cities.