Sharaa, who took the helm after Bashar al-Assad's ouster last month, has been appointed interim president and tasked with forming a transitional legislature, state media reported.A rebel alliance led by Sharaa's Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ousted Assad on December 8 after a lightning offensive,

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.

DAMASCUS - Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was declared president for a transitional phase and the constitution suspended on Wednesday, in moves that tighten his hold on power less than two months after he led a campaign that toppled Bashar al-Assad.

The new leadership of the country said the rebel coalition leader, Ahmed al-Shara, would serve as president during a transitional period.

Sharaa, was declared head of state for a transitional phase and empowered to form a new legislative council on Wednesday, in an announcement by the armed groups that toppled Bashar al-Assad. Syria's constitution was also suspended and the existing parliament dissolved,

Syria’s ruler Ahmad Al Shara has demanded that Russia hand over former president Bashar Al Assad and an estimated $2 billion dollars in liquid assets held by the Assad family in Russian banks, during a meeting in Damascus,

Assad, fled to Moscow last year after being ousted in a lightning rebel offensive that ended five decades of rule by the Assad family.

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.