The list of ministers appears to be a compromise between calls for a diverse cabinet to unite the divided country while keeping allies of the interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, in powerful roles.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a transitional government on Saturday, a key milestone in the transition away from decades of Assad family rule and improving Syria's ties with the West. (Reporting by Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba;

The announcement was made just in time to meet a self-imposed deadline to form an interim government in March, almost four months after the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham deposed former president Bashar al-Assad in a largely bloodless military offensive and installed Sharaa as leader.