UPDATE - Syria unveils new government lineup

​​​​​​​ADDS DETAILS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - A ceremony to announce the new Syrian government began Saturday with President Ahmad al-Sharaa vowing the government would seek to rebuild state institutions based on accountability and transparency.

“We are witnessing the birth of a new phase in our national journey, and the formation of a new government today is a declaration of our shared will to build a new state," Sharaa said at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Damascus. "This government will seek to open new horizons in education and health care, and we will not allow corruption to infiltrate our institutions."

The government “will rebuild state institutions on the basis of accountability and transparency,” he added.

The government lineup includes Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra; Interior Minister Anas Khattab; Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani; Justice Minister Mazhar Al-Wais; Higher Education Minister Marwan al-Halabi; Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat and Minister of Religious Endowments (Awqaf) Mohammad Abu al-Khair Shukri

The ministers delivered remarks that were followed by the taking of the oath of office before Sharaa, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

An interim government headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Bashir was appointed for a three-month period after the Bashar Assad regime was ousted by anti-regime forces, led by al-Sharaa, in December. Al-Sharaa was declared president for a transitional period in late January.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.