A number of rebel factions agreed to dissolve and be integrated under the defense ministry, according to the Syrian state-run news service. Trying to establish a single national military is the latest step to consolidate control by the fighters who overthrew the country’s leader, Bashar al-Assad.

The leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebel group that led the assault that ultimately toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime, has reached an agreement with other rebel leaders in its coalition to dissolve their factions and merge them under the Defense Ministry,