°®Âþµº

The civilian arm of a powerful Islamist militia controlling much of Ìýhas announced it will issue its ownÌýpersonal identification cards, in a new breakÌýfrom regime control.

The Syrian Salvation Government, the civilian arm ofÌý, said this weekÌýit was accepting applications for ID cards from residents aged-14 and over.

SSG Interior Minister Mohamed Abdelrahman Ìýlast week that the new identity cards could allow citizens to obtain marriage contracts, makeÌýsales and purchase contracts, conduct real estate transactions, and appear before the judiciary in HTS-controlled territory, which includes much of Idlib province.

The photo IDs were designed in accordance with international standards, Abdelrahman claimed.

A source close to the SSG °®Âþµº's Arabic-language sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that the move was necessary because many people in the territory either no longer possess or were never issuedÌýID cards by the state.

Many of the millions of Syrians displaced by the decade-long war in the country are believed to have lost their ID cards, while others,Ìýincluding the children of defectors from the Syrian regimeÌýmilitary, were never issued identification by Damascus, the source said.

About four million people live in territories controlled byÌýHTS, many of them displaced from elsewhere in Syria by the war that began in 2011 afterÌýBashar al-Assad's regime crushed peaceful protest.

Fighting has seen parts of Syria snatched up by different armed groups, including the HTS.

The group, which was previously affiliated withÌý, formed the SSG in 2017Ìýto administer the territory it holds.

In 2016, HTS severed its links with Al-QaedaÌýand hasÌýrecently tried to present a more "moderate" face - but it is stillÌýdesignated as a terrorist group by the US, the UK, and Turkey.

ItsÌýattempts to present a more moderate image, including meeting Christian leaders, has beenÌýrejected as PR by most pro-democracy Syrian activists.

The SSG rivals the Syrian opposition's "Syrian Interim Government", which was formed by the more moderate Syrian National Coalition (SNC) in 2013 but has little authority on the ground.