As the fighters who ousted Bashar al-Assad set out to assert control over the country, they pursued former government forces loyal to the Assad regime, resulting in deadly clashes in parts of the country.

DAMASCUS — Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and the heads of rebel factions agreed Tuesday to merge the groups under the Ministry of Defense, according to a statement from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebel group that led the charge to topple dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Sharaa spends his days conferring with advisers and meeting a stream of visitors—U.S. diplomats and leaders from Turkey, Jordan, Qatar and Syria’s religious sectsThey all want to know the same thing: How does Sharaa plan to govern the war-battered nation of 23 million people?

Ahmed al-Shara urged nations to remove sanctions from Syria and the terrorism designation from his group so Syria could rebuild. Bashar al-Assad also gave his first account of fleeing to Russia.