SYRIA might not hold elections for the next four years, interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa told a Saudi interviewer on Sunday.

Mr Sharaa, previously known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Julani, heads the al-Qaida offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which swept the Bashar al-Assad government aside earlier this month.

He said dialogue between different Syrian forces was needed before agreement on a new constitution and elections, and pointed to the mass dislocation of people by a 14-year civil war, with millions having fled abroad, as a reason it would take time to establish an accurate electoral roll.