Now, foreign countries are trying to steer Syria’s new de facto leaders toward an inclusive government free of sectarian reprisals and away from extreme forms of Islamism. The head of HTS and the president of Syria’s transitional government,

Economic shock therapy: plans include privatizations and slashing public sector jobs Reforms designed to avoid chaos of post-Soviet free market reforms in Eastern Europe, minister says But protests arise over fears of sectarian job purge Critics question fast pace and legitimacy of interim government's strategy DAMASCUS,

DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Syrian authorities have arrested a former senior security officer and cousin of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad seen by some as responsible for sparking the country's 2011 uprising due to a crackdown on protests in the southern city of Daraa,

Arab leaders have warmly welcomed Ahmed al-Sharaa as Syria's interim president, with close allies of his deposed predecessor remaining noncommittal.

Since Islamist rebels overthrew the Assad dictatorship in Syria, Egypt, with parallels in its own recent history, has watched warily.

Syria's new Islamist leaders are undertaking a radical overhaul of the country's broken economy, including plans to fire a third of all public sector workers and privatising state-run companies dominant during half a century of Assad family rule.

President Ahmed al-Shara vowed to be inclusive, but the way crucial decisions have been made has left some Syrians wary.

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.

Sharaa, promised Thursday to hold a "national dialogue conference" in his first address to the nation since the fall of ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.Sharaa, who was appointed interim president a day earlier for an unspecified transitional period,

Ahmed al Sharaa was declared the new president of Syria in the transitional government that came into power after the collapse of the Assad regime on December 8. This declaration led to congratulations from several Arab states in the region,

Russia is willing to help with the reconstruction of Syria as it continues to seek a deal with the country’s new leadership to retain two vital military bases, according to a senior Middle East policy adviser to the Russian government.