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Syria opposition groups set for crucial Doha meeting Syria opposition groups hold crucial Qatar meeting
(about 7 hours later)
Syrian opposition groups are preparing for a crucial meeting on Sunday in the Qatari capital, Doha, to discuss how to form a more united front. Syrian opposition groups have gathered in the Qatari capital, Doha, for a key meeting on how to form a more united front against President Assad.
The meeting could lead to a replacement for the Syrian National Council (SNC), the main opposition body in exile. The meeting could lead to a replacement body for the Syrian National Council (SNC), the main opposition in exile.
The SNC has been criticised as out of touch by rebel forces in Syria, and the opposition is also split ideologically. Rebel forces in Syria have criticised the SNC as out of touch, and the opposition is also split ideologically.
The Doha talks come a day after rebels in northern Syria launched an offensive to try win control of an key airbase. The Doha talks come a day after rebels in northern Syria launched an offensive to take control of a key airbase.
Video posted on the internet on Saturday showed fighters attacking the strategically important Taftanaz base in the north with multiple rocket launchers, mortars and other weaponry. Young elements
Activists said the fighting at Taftanaz, which is crucial for government supply lines into northern Syria, continued into Saturday evening, although state media said government forces had repelled the assault.
In recent months, the government forces have been making increasing use of air power to strike areas held by the rebels, who lack anti-aircraft weapons to deter the attacks.
Multiple divisions
The SNC will be looking to broaden its ranks and agree on a common platform at the conference, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Doha.The SNC will be looking to broaden its ranks and agree on a common platform at the conference, the BBC's Jim Muir reports from Doha.
However, other groups and opposition figures will also be present, including respected dissident Riad Seif. The Syrian opposition is well aware that it is widely regarded as fragmented and ineffective, and that this is becoming more and more an issue as events on the ground gather pace.
Mr Seif is being apparently being suggested by the US as the head of a new government-in-exile which would be dubbed the Syrian National Initiative. The coming days will see the most concerted effort so far to pull the bulk of the opposition together and to create effective and credible structures that the outside world can work with in trying to bring about a transition in Syria.
"An alternative to the regime is dearly needed," Mr Seif told the Reuters news agency. The outcome of the meeting is by no means certain. Divisions run deep, both among the opposition, and among the outside powers, who are watching this process closely.
"We are talking about a temporary period that begins with forming a political leadership until a national assembly that represents all Syrians meets in Damascus, once Assad falls," he added. The SNC will be holding four days of intensive internal meetings aimed at overhauling its structures completely, our correspondent says, bringing in new, young elements closer to events on the ground, and producing a new leadership.
What may emerge from the meeting is a new leadership body for the Syrian opposition separate from the SNC but including some figures from it, our correspondent reports. It will hold talks with the Syrian National Initiative, a group of influential and respected opposition figures who are proposing the creation of a unified leadership body that would later produce a government in exile, possibly as early as next month.
The US is hoping a new leadership will help unify the disparate opposition elements and bring a successful conclusion to an uprising that has killed more than 36,000 people since protests against President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March 2011. Respected dissident Riad Seif is apparently being suggested by the US as the head of the new government in exile.
"An alternative to the regime is dearly needed," Mr Seif told Reuters news agency.
"We are talking about a temporary period that begins with forming a political leadership until a national assembly that represents all Syrians meets in Damascus, once Assad falls," he said.
Mr Seif was among more than 20 opposition leaders who gathered in Jordan on Thursday to hammer out proposals for a new leadership.
The participants there issued a statement to quell fears that they were planning to negotiate with President Bashar al-Assad.
"Assad and his entourage leaving power is a non-negotiable precondition for any dialogue aimed at finding a non-military solution, if that is still possible," the statement said.
Airbase fighting
The US is hoping the new leadership will help bring a successful conclusion to an uprising that has killed more than 36,000 people since protests against President Assad erupted in March 2011.
Earlier this week, American officials signalled the opposition needed to be expanded from just the SNC to take in more of those operating inside Syria.Earlier this week, American officials signalled the opposition needed to be expanded from just the SNC to take in more of those operating inside Syria.
Divisions have arisen not just between those in Syria and opposition figures abroad, but also between Islamist and secularist groups.Divisions have arisen not just between those in Syria and opposition figures abroad, but also between Islamist and secularist groups.
A previous opposition meeting in Cairo in July accepted that the Assad government must fall but failed to appoint a committee to act for the opposition internationally.A previous opposition meeting in Cairo in July accepted that the Assad government must fall but failed to appoint a committee to act for the opposition internationally.
Representatives at Doha will include various other religious and secular groupings, plus Kurdish figures and dissident members of Mr Assad's Alawite sect.Representatives at Doha will include various other religious and secular groupings, plus Kurdish figures and dissident members of Mr Assad's Alawite sect.
'War crime' evidence Inside Syria, rebels on Saturday attacked the strategically important Taftanaz base in the north with multiple rocket launchers, mortars and other weaponry.
The question of apparent brutality by some rebel units has also come to the fore ahead of the Doha meeting. Activists said the fighting at Taftanaz, which is crucial for government supply lines into northern Syria, continued into Saturday evening.
Video footage which emerged on Friday appeared to show rebel forces beating and then shooting dead a group of prisoners from pro-government forces who were cowering on the floor. The state-run Sana news agency said on Sunday that government forces had confronted what it called several armed terrorist groups, adding that "the armed forces killed a large number of terrorists and destroyed their vehicles".
Although nothing certain has been established about the footage, a radical Islamist faction called the al-Nusra Front has been named in connection with the killings at Saraqeb, near the city of Idlib.
The UN has said the video could be evidence of a war crime.
On Friday, the US said it "condemned human rights violations by any party in Syria".
State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: "There is no justification for that kind of behaviour ever. Anyone committing atrocities should be held to account."