The rebel chief who led the overthrow of the longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad has been declared the head of government for a transitional period.

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. Rebel military commander Hassan Abdul Ghani also announced the cancellation of Syria's 2012 constitution and the dissolution of the former regime's parliament,

The Media Line's intrepid correspondents are in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan providing first-person reporting. After 54 years of Assad family rule, Syria enters a new era with Ahmed al-Sharaa as transitional president.

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.

Sharaa, who took the helm after longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad’s ouster last month, was appointed interim president and tasked with forming a transitional legislature, state media reported. Sharaa was appointed “as the country’s president in the transitional phase”,

For the first time in over five decades, Syria is under new leadership following the appointment of Ahmed al-Sharaa as transitional president. His official appointment was announced Wednesday in a speech attended by military faction leaders and government officials,