On Sunday, the rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized the capital Damascus in a lightning offensive, toppling president Bashar al-Assad who fled the country.

“The general command has tasked us with running the transitional government until March 1,” said a statement attributed to Bashir on state television’s Telegram account, referring to him as “the new Syrian prime minister”.

Before being tapped for the role, he had been head of the rebels’ so-called Salvation Government in northwest Syria and previously held the role of its development minister.

Also today, a source within the political affairs department of the Salvation Government told AFP Bashir would head the transitional government.

The Salvation Government, with its own ministries, departments, judicial and security authorities, was set up in the Idlib bastion in 2017 to assist people in the rebel-held area cut off from government services.

It has since begun rolling out assistance in Aleppo, the first major city to fall from government hands after the rebels began their offensive.