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

Former rebels now controlling Syria name an interim president and throw out the constitution adopted under Assad, saying a new one will be drafted soon.

In less than two months, Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa has risen from rebel leader to interim president, after his Islamist group led a lightning offensive

Russia deployed troops to Syria in 2015 to support Assad regime's brutal crackdown against anti-government forces.

A delegation of Russian officials arrived in Damascus on Tuesday for the first such visit to Syria since the fall of former President Bashar Assad. Assad, an ally of Moscow, took refuge in Russia after his ouster in December in a lightning rebel offensive.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister and a special envoy arrived in Damascus. Theirs was the first such visit since President Bashar al-Assad fled the country, according to Russian state news.