Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has reached an agreement with former rebel faction chiefs to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the Defense Ministry, the new administration says in a statement. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir had said last week that the ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Bashar al-Assad's army. Sharaa will face the daunting task of trying to avoid clashes between the myriad groups. Syria's new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Assad, as defense minister in the interim government.