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.

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

Sharaa, a rebel once aligned with al-Qaida, as Syria's president “in the transitional phase,” came after a meeting of the former insurgent factions in Damascus, the Syrian capital.