Tuesday March 7 1:37 PM ET

Government of Syria Resigns By ALBERT AJI

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Syria's Cabinet resigned Tuesday and President Hafez Assad named a provincial governor as the new prime minister, a presidential spokesman said.

It was unclear whether the new government would include Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, who is in charge of Mideast peace talks.

Prime Minister Mahmoud el-Zouebi's 37-member Cabinet submitted its resignation to Assad, the ultimate authority in Syria, in the first major government shake-up since 1992.

Assad named Mohammed Mustafa Miro, governor of the northern Aleppo province, as the new prime minister, presidential spokesman Jibran Kourieh said.

``The president has asked the outgoing government to continue its work until the new government is formed,'' Kourieh said.

The naming of a new government is seen as a move by Assad to help him press ahead with promised social and economic reforms. It also reflects the leadership's desire to inject new blood in the aging Cabinet as the country struggles to modernize and to eradicate corruption.

The composition of the new government would also have a direct bearing on Syria's peace talks with Israel.

In a speech after being elected to a fifth seven-year term in a national referendum last year, Assad hinted at his dissatisfaction with the government's performance.

-- robert bright (roosterbos@go.com), March 07, 2000