SANLIURFA, Turkey

The Syrian National Army and the National Front for Liberation have united under the Defense Ministry, the head of the Syrian Interim Government announced Friday.

“Following the decisive activities of the organization, we announce that sector and unit commanders in the National Army and National Front for Liberation have united under the banner of a single army under the Syrian Provisional Government's Defense Ministry,” Abdurrahman Mustafa said at a news conference.

“As everyone knows, our people east of the Euphrates were subjected to massacres and their villages and towns were destroyed and burned,” Mustafa added.

Former head of the coalition and Turkmen politician Mustafa was elected head of the Syria's interim government by taking 54 votes out of 82.

Syria’s interim government was established on March 18, 2013 under the auspices of the national coalition. It is currently headquartered in Syria’s northwestern city of Azaz.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.

* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur