Assad appoints prime minister to form new government

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has appointed Prime Minister Hussein Arnous and asked him to form a new government as the country continues to suffer from a severe economic crisis and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Arnous was appointed as the caretaker Prime Minister to replace Imad Khamis after the latter was fired by the president in June due to the regime’s handling of the country’s worsening economic crisis. His appointment was stabilised following the recent parliamentary elections, in which Assad’s Baath Party won very conveniently.

The 67-year-old Arnous hails from the city of Maarat Al-Numan in the opposition-held Idlib province. He has held several official positions in the regime over the years, including governor of the eastern Deir Ez-Zor province, governor of the south-west Quneitra province, Minister of Public Works in 2013, and finally the Minister of Water Resources in two years ago.

Among the issues that Arnous will have to deal with is the ongoing war in Syria, now in its tenth year. He will also have to cope with the sanctions imposed by the EU, UN and the US, the latest of which are the recent “Caesar” sanctions which target regime figures for their role in the torture and killing of civilians. Arnous himself is on the sanctions list personally.

READ: The US Caesar sanctions are a punishment not a solution for Syria