The leader of the former rebel group that toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad has been named the country's interim president, following a meeting of the former insurgent factions.

The new leadership of the country said the rebel coalition leader, Ahmed al-Shara, would serve as president during a transitional period.

Syria’s ruler Ahmad Al Shara has demanded at a meeting in Damascus that Russia hand over former president Bashar Al Assad and an estimated $2 billion in liquid assets held by the exiled dictator's family in Russian banks,