SYRIA’S interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under jihadist rule while supposedly protecting the rights of all Syrians during a five-year transitional phase.

The interim rulers have been unable to exert their authority across much of the country since Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a lightning offensive that overthrew president Bashar al-Assad in December.

There have been horrific reports of massacres being carried out by forces of the new regime against the minority Alawite population. This include allegations that families have been burned alive and children executed. 

At the January meeting in that appointed former HTS leader Mr Sharaa interim president, a decision was taken to replace the existing constitution. 

Many communities have remained sceptical of the new Islamist leaders and reluctant to allow the new authorities in Damascus to take control of their areas.

Abdulhamid al-Awak, one of the seven members of the committee that Mr Sharaa tasked with drafting the temporary constitution, told a news conference on Thursday that it would remain the law that the head of state must be a Muslim and that, in future, Islamic law would be the main source of jurisprudence.

But Mr Awak, a constitutional law expert who teaches at Mardin Artuklu University in Turkey, also said that the temporary constitution included provisions protecting freedom of expression and the media.

The constitution will “balance between social security and freedom” while Syria’s political situation remains shaky, he said, and will set up an “absolute and rigid separation” between legislative, executive and judicial authorities.

The text of the temporary constitution sets up a people’s committee that will serve as an interim parliament until a permanent constitution is adopted and elections held. 

Two-thirds of its members will be appointed by a committee selected by the interim president and one-third by Mr Sharaa directly.