Syria's new administration names Murhaf Abu Qasra as defense minister

The state news agency SANA said that Abu Qasra was appointed a defense minister in the new interim government.

The appointment was part of efforts to restructure Syria’s state institutions following the fall of the Bashar Assad regime on Dec. 8.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.