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Reshuffle of HTS-linked government fails to bring hope in Idlib

It appears that the new cabinet of an Idlib-based opposition government connected to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham will not earn the trust of the public, which continues to suffer under tough economic and humanitarian conditions.

Road direction signs are pictured at the entrance enroute to Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib, Syria August 24, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC18F81DAAE0
Road direction signs are seen at an entrance to Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib, Syria, Aug. 24, 2019. — REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

ALEPPO, Syria — The spokesman for the Ministry of Development and Humanitarian Affairs in the opposition’s Syrian Salvation Government said Dec. 21 that shelters were being provided to deal with the recent displacement crisis in Idlib’s southern countryside that resulted from government forces’ shelling of civilian cities and towns.

On Dec. 12, it was announced that the opposition government was being reshuffled, with Ali Keda as prime minister and 10 ministerial portfolios.

The General Shura Council, a legislative body that includes prominent tribal figures and is close to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, had given its vote of confidence to Keda to form a new government Nov. 18 following the resignation of the cabinet headed by Fawaz Hilal and formed in November 2018. 

Born in 1973, Keda is an engineer who hails from Harbanoosh village in Idlib and has five children. In his ministerial statement, he pledged that work on solving the displacement and camp crisis would eventually mean that no tent or camp would remain. 

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