DAMASCUS Syria 's defense minister on May 17 gave holdout armed groups a 10-day deadline to join the war-torn country's forces , in the latest push to unify ranks following Bashar al-Assad's ouster. Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said all major armed factions had now been integrated into the Defense Ministry after the new authorities began working to bring them together, but he urged the remaining smaller groups to also join ranks. "We emphasize the need for the remaining small military groups to