A day after the lightning overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali on Monday said he has agreed to hand power to the rebel-led Salvation Government. The imminent transfer of power, which follows 13 years of civil war and five decades of iron-fisted Baath rule, has left Syrians, countries in the region and world powers nervous about what comes next as the rebel alliance prepares for government transition.

Syria’s Islamist rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, who is now using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa, met with outgoing Prime Minister Al-Jalali on Monday “to coordinate a transfer of power that guarantees the provision of services” to Syria’s people, said a statement posted on the rebels’ Telegram channels. 

According to a report by Al Jazeera television, the transitional authority would be headed by Mohamed al-Bashir, who has headed the Salvation Government, a de facto unrecognized quasi-state in Syria formed in November 2017 by HTS and other Syrian opposition groups. However the rebel alliance has not communicated plans for Syria’s future, and there is no template for such a transition in the fractious region.