Syria interim leader removes brother in wider government reshuffle

Syria’s interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa announced a sweeping reshuffle of senior officials, removing his brother Maher al-Sharaa from the post of secretary-general to the presidency and naming Abdul Rahman Badreddine al-Aama, the former governor of Homs, as his replacement. The decree also installed new governors in Homs, Latakia, Deir el-Zour and Quneitra, and appointed Khaled Zaarour, a media academic and former dean at Damascus University, as information minister in place of Hamza Mustafa. Maher al-Sharaa, a physician who previously served as interim health minister, was not immediately assigned a new role.

The changes come as al-Sharaa’s administration seeks to consolidate authority and mend divisions after a nearly 14-year civil war and his December 2024 ouster of Bashar al-Assad. Maher al-Sharaa’s earlier appointment had prompted accusations of nepotism and drawn parallels with the Assad era, when family members held influential posts—such as Maher al-Assad’s command of the 4th Armored Division and Asma al-Assad’s leadership of the Syrian Trust for Development—roles that were criticized by opposition activists for alleged abuses. It remained unclear how the reshuffle will affect efforts to unify the country and whether Maher al-Sharaa will take another position, as reported by AP News

This story has also been reported by: Reuters