The choice of cabinet officials was seen as a litmus test for whether the rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad would deliver on a pledge to create a government representative of all Syrians.

Syria’s interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a new cabinet on Saturday, reflecting a more diverse range of Syrians amid international pressure for inclusivity but set within a transitional system that ultimately keeps power tightly within his own hands.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a transitional government on Saturday, appointing 23 ministers in a broadened cabinet seen as a key milestone in the transition from decades of Assad family rule and to improving Syria's ties with the West.