Staff writer, Al Arabiya, 16 July 2017 – On the initiative of the Damascus Military Council, Jaysh al-Islam rebel group has announced its agreement to dissolve itself and to integrate into the Syrian opposition national army.

By agreeing the initiative, Jaysh al-Islam has all but dissolved itself as the proposal stipulates for the dissolution of the military formations in al-Ghouta, which is a stronghold of the rebel group that is a coalition of Islamist and Salafist units.

The goal of the initiative, according to sources close to the Damascus Military Council, is to form a nucleus for a unified opposition national army, in addition to dissolving all civil and service institutions.

The decision was by Hamza Birekdar, who confirmed that Jaysh al-Islam was ready to cooperate fully to the success of the proposal.

Jaysh al-Islam is one of the biggest rebel factions fighting President Bashar al-Assad in western Syria.