The visits came a day after Sharaa — also known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani — met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, the highest-level visit from Lebanon to Syria to date. Arab states had responded cautiously to Assad’s fall and the takeover by HTS-led Islamist rebels.

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.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reached an agreement with former rebel faction chiefs to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the defence ministry.