The announcement, delayed from its expected date of March 1, comes as international powers call for a genuine political transition in Syria. The new government takes office in the shadow of recent sectarian violence targeting Alawite communities along the coast, once a stronghold of the Assad regime.

Syria’s new transitional government was sworn in Saturday nearly four months after the Assad family was removed from power and as the new authorities in Damascus work to bring back stability to the war-torn country.