Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday renamed Wael al-Halqi as war-torn Syria’s prime minister and asked him to form a new government.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday renamed Wael al-Halqi as war-torn Syria's prime minister and asked him to form a new government, state media reported.

The appointment comes three weeks after Assad was inaugurated for a third seven-year term following an election that Syria's exiled opposition and its Western backers denounced as a sham.

Halqi, 48, first became premier in June 2012. He escaped an April 2013 assassination attempt in Damascus.

Assad was sworn in for a new term on July 16, warning Western and Arab governments of the backfire they face for their support of the armed unrest in Syria.