Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a series of government changes in ‌late-night presidential decrees published by State news agency SANA.

Mr. Sharaa appointed ⁠Khaled Zaarour as Information Minister, replacing Hamza Mustafa, who was moved to ‌the Foreign Ministry. As Agriculture Minister, he named Bassel ‌Sweidan, who also heads a committee ‌tasked ⁠with reaching settlement agreements ⁠with business tycoons linked to the Assad-era elite.

Mr. Sharaa replaced governors in the provinces of Homs, al Quneitra ‌and Deir Ezzor, the eastern province where most of Syria’s oil fields are located.

The reshuffle ‌is the first since the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad and comes around ⁠a year and a half into the five-year transitional period set ‌out in Syria’s constitutional declaration.

No official reason was given for the changes, but protests and social media campaigns have emerged in recent months over worsening economic conditions ‌and what critics describe as poor government performance.

Mr. Sharaa also appointed a new secretary-general for the presidency, a ⁠post previously held by one ⁠of his brothers, a move that had drawn criticism from ‌opponents who accused the administration of favouring nepotism over merit.