Six Gulf states have recognised a new Syrian opposition coalition as the country’s “legitimate representative”.
The
National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces was
unveiled in Doha on Sunday, aimed at uniting the various factions
seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.
Its president will be Moaz al-Khatib, a former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus who fled Syria this year.
Western nations and Turkey earlier welcomed the coalition’s creation.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said its tanks had scored “direct hits” on Syrian artillery units after Syrian mortar shells fell near an Israeli army post on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for the second consecutive day.
A complaint had been filed with UN forces operating in the area, it added, after what correspondents described as the most serious episode between the two countries since the Arab-Israeli war of 1973.
Elsewhere, Syrian government aircraft bombed the rebel-held town of Ras al-Ain, near the border with Turkey.
Both jets and helicopters targeted the town, sending civilians fleeing into the Turkish settlement of Ceylanpinar. Casualties were reported.
Nato has said it will do what it takes to protect and defend Turkey – one of the alliance’s member states.
Over the last week, there has been some suggestion it might supply Turkey with Patriot surface-to-air missiles in order to help secure the border.
“Turkey can rely on Nato solidarity, we have more plans in place to defend and protect Turkey, our ally, if needed,” Secretary General Anders Rasmussen told reporters in Prague, without elaborating.
Observers and activists estimate that more than 36,000 people have been killed in the long-running uprising against President Assad. Hundreds of thousands have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.
International recognition
“The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) declares its recognition of the Syrian national coalition… as the legitimate representative of the brotherly Syrian people,” Abdulatif al-Zayani, the GCC’s secretary general, said in a statement.
The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.
Western and regional powers have in recent weeks put pressure on a hitherto fractious Syrian opposition to create a unified, credible body that could become a conduit for all financial and possibly military aid.
The Syrian National Council (SNC), the previously dominant opposition umbrella group which is widely viewed as divided and ineffective, will control 22 of the 60 seats on the National Coalition’s leadership council.
“We look forward to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course toward the end of Assad’s bloody rule and the start of the peaceful, just, democratic future that all the people of Syria deserve,” US state department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the move was an “important milestone in forming a broad and representative opposition that reflects the full diversity of the Syrian people.”
France’s Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, said it would “work with its partners to secure international recognition of this new entity as the representative of the aspirations of the Syrian people”.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani of Qatar – a key regional backer of the opposition and organiser of Sunday’s talks in Doha – said he would travel to the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo with Mr Khatib on Monday.
“We will seek a full recognition of this new body,” he said.
Western efforts to support the Syrian opposition have been hampered by Russia and China, which have blocked three UN Security Council resolutions seeking to pressure Mr Assad to end the conflict.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu said the international community had “no excuse any more” not to support the opposition.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said only that his country supported a political transition “led by the Syrian people as soon as possible.”
“We hope the moves by the relevant sides will help achieve these goals,” he said.
Russia said the National Coalition should seek “a peaceful resolution of the conflict by Syrians themselves, without external interference, through dialogue and negotiations”.
Mr Khatib, a 52-year-old former Sunni Muslim imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, left for Cairo in July after several periods of detention by the Syrian authorities for criticising President Assad. He is seen as a moderate.
“We demand freedom for every Sunni, Alawite, Ismaili (Shia), Christian, Druze, Assyrian … and rights for all parts of the harmonious Syrian people,” he said after being elected president of the National Coalition.
The group, formed after a week of talks in Doha, will have two vice-presidents – prominent dissident Riad Seif and the leading female secular activist, Suhair al-Atassi.
Delegates said the leadership council would include representation for ethnic Kurds, Christians, Alawites and women. There will also be a military council that will reportedly include the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The Syrian National Council (SNC), which was formerly recognised as the main opposition coalition, had been concerned it might be sidelined.
But Rima Fleihan, a spokeswoman for the National Coalition, told the BBC that the opposition was “one party now”, adding: “This will give us hope, give the Syrian people hope and this will be an answer for the international community that all the time asks us to be one party.”
The
National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces was
unveiled in Doha on Sunday, aimed at uniting the various factions
seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.Its president will be Moaz al-Khatib, a former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus who fled Syria this year.
Western nations and Turkey earlier welcomed the coalition’s creation.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said its tanks had scored “direct hits” on Syrian artillery units after Syrian mortar shells fell near an Israeli army post on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for the second consecutive day.
A complaint had been filed with UN forces operating in the area, it added, after what correspondents described as the most serious episode between the two countries since the Arab-Israeli war of 1973.
Elsewhere, Syrian government aircraft bombed the rebel-held town of Ras al-Ain, near the border with Turkey.
Both jets and helicopters targeted the town, sending civilians fleeing into the Turkish settlement of Ceylanpinar. Casualties were reported.
Nato has said it will do what it takes to protect and defend Turkey – one of the alliance’s member states.
Over the last week, there has been some suggestion it might supply Turkey with Patriot surface-to-air missiles in order to help secure the border.
“Turkey can rely on Nato solidarity, we have more plans in place to defend and protect Turkey, our ally, if needed,” Secretary General Anders Rasmussen told reporters in Prague, without elaborating.
Observers and activists estimate that more than 36,000 people have been killed in the long-running uprising against President Assad. Hundreds of thousands have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.
International recognition
“The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) declares its recognition of the Syrian national coalition… as the legitimate representative of the brotherly Syrian people,” Abdulatif al-Zayani, the GCC’s secretary general, said in a statement.
The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.
Western and regional powers have in recent weeks put pressure on a hitherto fractious Syrian opposition to create a unified, credible body that could become a conduit for all financial and possibly military aid.
The Syrian National Council (SNC), the previously dominant opposition umbrella group which is widely viewed as divided and ineffective, will control 22 of the 60 seats on the National Coalition’s leadership council.
“We look forward to supporting the National Coalition as it charts a course toward the end of Assad’s bloody rule and the start of the peaceful, just, democratic future that all the people of Syria deserve,” US state department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the move was an “important milestone in forming a broad and representative opposition that reflects the full diversity of the Syrian people.”
France’s Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, said it would “work with its partners to secure international recognition of this new entity as the representative of the aspirations of the Syrian people”.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani of Qatar – a key regional backer of the opposition and organiser of Sunday’s talks in Doha – said he would travel to the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo with Mr Khatib on Monday.
“We will seek a full recognition of this new body,” he said.
Western efforts to support the Syrian opposition have been hampered by Russia and China, which have blocked three UN Security Council resolutions seeking to pressure Mr Assad to end the conflict.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu said the international community had “no excuse any more” not to support the opposition.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said only that his country supported a political transition “led by the Syrian people as soon as possible.”
“We hope the moves by the relevant sides will help achieve these goals,” he said.
Russia said the National Coalition should seek “a peaceful resolution of the conflict by Syrians themselves, without external interference, through dialogue and negotiations”.
Mr Khatib, a 52-year-old former Sunni Muslim imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, left for Cairo in July after several periods of detention by the Syrian authorities for criticising President Assad. He is seen as a moderate.
“We demand freedom for every Sunni, Alawite, Ismaili (Shia), Christian, Druze, Assyrian … and rights for all parts of the harmonious Syrian people,” he said after being elected president of the National Coalition.
The group, formed after a week of talks in Doha, will have two vice-presidents – prominent dissident Riad Seif and the leading female secular activist, Suhair al-Atassi.
Delegates said the leadership council would include representation for ethnic Kurds, Christians, Alawites and women. There will also be a military council that will reportedly include the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
The Syrian National Council (SNC), which was formerly recognised as the main opposition coalition, had been concerned it might be sidelined.
But Rima Fleihan, a spokeswoman for the National Coalition, told the BBC that the opposition was “one party now”, adding: “This will give us hope, give the Syrian people hope and this will be an answer for the international community that all the time asks us to be one party.”
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