Syria interior minister out in government reshuffle

A government reshuffle Monday in Syria  renewed almost a third of the cabinet, including the ministers of interior and of public works, the official SANA news agency reported.

The reshuffle, which does not include any major surprises, was announced in a decree signed by dictator Bashar al-Assad who is responsible for countless massacres in his own country.

One of the most significant changes is the replacement of Mohammed al-Shaar, who had held the position since 2011, by Mohammed Khaled al-Rahmoun as interior minister.

He was the head of the Political Security Directorate, one of Syria's intelligence agencies. The US Treasury placed him on a sanctions list last year. 

The portfolio of public works and housing, whose importance has grown as Syria increasingly shifts its focus from war to reconstruction, also changed hands.

The new minister is Suhail Abdel Latif, who replaces Hussein Arnus.

The ministries of tourism, education, higher education, communications, trade and water resources also changed hands.

The minister of national reconciliation Ali Haidar will head up a new body called the National Reconciliation Authority.

The Syrian war began when the Baath regime, in power since 1963 and led by President Bashar al-Assad, responded with military force to peaceful protests demanding democratic reforms during the Arab Spring wave of uprisings, triggering an armed rebellion fuelled by mass defections from the Syrian army.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed in the war, mostly by the regime and its powerful allies, and millions have been displaced both inside and outside of Syria.

The brutal tactics pursued mainly by the regime, which have included the use of chemical weapons, sieges, mass executions and torture against civilians have led to war crimes investigations.