A coalition of Syrian opposition groups agreed on December 10 to form a new and more inclusive body to guide the diverse and divided opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in a new round of planned talks aimed at ending the Syrian civil war.
The formation of the group is being seen by the international allies of the opposition as a prerequisite for new talks. The new body appeared to fit the bill by pulling together political dissidents who have long distrusted one another as well as rebel groups fighting the Syrian Army. “This is the widest participation for the opposition, inside and outside of Syria, and we have the participation of the armed groups,” said Hadi al-Bahra, a member of the exiled Syrian National Coalition who attended the two-day conference that produced the new body.
The agreement in Riyadh is an important step forward, which followed a truce between rebels and government forces in the strategic city of Homs. According to an unnamed senior United Nations official, “this could serve as a building block for a broader cease-fire agreement, so long as the government can hold up its end of the deal as proof that it “cares about its people.”
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