ALEPPO — The National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, commonly known as the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), on March 10 accepted the resignation of Jawad Abu Hatab as prime minister of the Syrian Interim Government at its 44th general assembly meeting in Istanbul. Abu Hatab, who had held the office since May 2016, had resigned Feb. 28 without publicly stating a reason. The Anadolu Agency quoted SNC President Abdul Rahman Mustafa as saying, “A new president will be selected at the next assembly in May.”

Some have linked Abu Hatab's resignation to the expanding influence and control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its political arm, the Syrian Government of Salvation, over most of the areas previously administered by the Interim Government in Idlib province. Abu Hatab’s departure follows shortly after HTS in early February took over opposition-controlled areas in Idlib, the neighboring northern countryside of Hama and the western countryside of Aleppo, in the process ousting factions of the National Liberation Front (NLF) of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Al-Monitor contacted Abu Hatab to inquire about the reasons behind his resignation, but he declined to comment.

Al-Monitor did, however, manage to speak with Yasser al-Haji, director of the public relations office of the Interim Government. “Almost three years into the establishment of the Interim Government in the opposition areas inside Syria, and in light of the difficult circumstances and the many changes that affected the Syrian revolution, it is necessary to uphold the common good over personal interests,” Haji said. “Prime Minister Abu Hatab decided to resign in order to allow someone else to assume the government premiership and pump in new blood to serve our people.”

He further asserted, “There may be a new formation of the interim government. This task will be assumed by the SNC. There will certainly be new blood that will revive institutional work in opposition areas.”