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.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has been named president for the "transitional period", state media report, seven weeks after he led the rebel offensive that overthrew Bashar al-Assad. Rebel military commander Hassan Abdul Ghani also announced the cancellation of Syria's 2012 constitution and the dissolution of the former regime's parliament,

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.

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,

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”,