The choice of cabinet officials was seen as a litmus test for whether the rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad would deliver on a pledge to create a government representative of all Syrians.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a transitional government on Saturday, appointing 23 ministers in a broadened cabinet seen as a key milestone in the transition from decades of Assad family rule and to improving Syria's ties with the West.

Syria’s new transitional government was sworn in Saturday nearly four months after the Assad family was removed from power and as the new authorities in Damascus work to bring back stability to the war-torn country.