Arab leaders have warmly welcomed Ahmed al-Sharaa as Syria's interim president, with close allies of his deposed predecessor remaining noncommittal.

The commander appointed Mr Sharaa interim president, dissolved Mr Assad’s Baath Party, and announced the formation of a legislative council that will govern Syria until a new constitution can be agreed.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has been named president for the "transitional period", state media report, seven weeks after he led the rebel offensive that overthrew Bashar al-Assad. Rebel military commander Hassan Abdul Ghani also announced the cancellation of Syria's 2012 constitution and the dissolution of the former regime's parliament,

Celebrations broke out across Syria on Wednesday evening following the appointment of Ahmed al-Sharaa, leader of the new administration in Syria, as the country's transitional president. In Damascus,

Sharaa was already de facto head of Syria's government ever since a coalition of rebel fighters swept through most of Syria and ousted Assad's regime.