DAMASCUS (Reuters) -Syria's defence minister has called on small armed groups that have yet to merge with the security apparatus to do so within 10 days or face unspecified measures, in a bid to consolidate state authority six months after Bashar al-Assad was toppled.
A plethora of weapons outside government control has posed a challenge to interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's efforts to establish control, as groups that both back him and oppose him remain armed.
