This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/21/world/middleeast/britain-is-latest-power-to-recognize-syrian-opposition-coalition.html

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Britain Is Latest Power to Recognize Syrian Opposition Coalition Britain Is Latest Power to Recognize Syrian Opposition Coalition
(about 5 hours later)
LONDON — Britain officially recognized the Syrian opposition on Tuesday, increasing the international legitimacy of the newly formed coalition of groups seeking to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad. BEIRUT, Lebanon — Making diplomatic and military advances, a Syrian opposition coalition gained official recognition from Britain on Tuesday and showed off one of its largest hauls of heavy weapons from a captured government base inside Syria.
Foreign Secretary William Hague told Parliament that the British government had “decided to recognize the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.” The developments came against a backdrop of steadily increasing violence in the capital, Damascus, with expectations growing of a full conflagration there.
France, Turkey and several Arab countries recognized the coalition last week. Other Western nations have also expressed support for the opposition coalition but stopped short of full recognition, including a declaration on Monday from the foreign ministers of the European Union that the group represents “the aspirations of the Syrian people.” In London, Foreign Secretary William Hague told Parliament that Britain had decided to recognize the recently formed coalition as the “sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.”
Many nations have been cautious about full recognition because of worries about the makeup of the opposition forces in Syria. The opposition has often been divided, and Islamic extremists have taken a larger role in the conflict and gained influence on the ground. The coalition, whose official name is the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, has already been recognized by France, Turkey and the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
But several extremist groups fighting in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, said in a video posted online Sunday that they rejected the new coalition, which was formed Nov. 11 in Doha, Qatar, to replace an earlier umbrella organization widely regarded as ineffectual. There has been some hesitation in recognizing the new coalition before it proves it can unite the exiled opposition groups with those fighting inside Syria, as well as organize much-needed humanitarian relief.
In London, Mr. Hague said that in talks with diplomats, the opposition coalition had stressed its intention to become a moderate political force committed to democracy, and not to repeat the abuses of the Assad government. But the countries that have extended early diplomatic recognition are making a calculation that backing the coalition now will help make it credible and bolster its chances of becoming a legitimate alternative to the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The previous attempt, the Syrian National Council, got lost in a thicket of personal bickering.
“It is strongly in the interests of Syria, of the wider region, and of the United Kingdom that we support them and deny space to extremist groups,” Mr. Hague said. Supporters of the opposition feared that the political forces in exile were growing increasingly irrelevant while jihadist fighters gradually took on a more prominent role in the uprising against the government.
The European Union has imposed an embargo on shipments of weapons to any side in Syria, and Mr. Hague did not mention any plan to alter that policy. He said Britain would increase other kinds of aid for the rebels, including communications equipment, and would invite the coalition to appoint a political representative to Britain. “It is strongly in the interests of Syria, of the wider region and of the United Kingdom that we support them and deny space to extremist groups,” Mr. Hague said.
Mr. Hague said that a “credible alternative” to the Assad government was emerging, but that if a political and diplomatic solution was not found, Britain “will not rule out any option in accordance with international law that might save innocent lives in Syria.” He added that a “credible alternative” to the Assad government was emerging, but that if a political and diplomatic solution was not found, Britain “will not rule out any option in accordance with international law that might save innocent lives in Syria.”
Questions swirled around a video posted online on Sunday appearing to show several Islamist groups disavowing the coalition. But at least two of the groups named in the video later said it did not reflect their opinion, reinforcing the murky details surrounding the groups fighting the Syrian government.
In Ankara, the Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said NATO states had signed off on deploying an advanced Patriot missile system to Turkey to defend against Syrian attacks. Talks over the deployment are in their final stage, he said.
The missiles, which could come from the United States, were meant for defensive purposes. But the agreement still represented another notch in hardening Western positions toward military action against Syria. Fighting along the Syrian border has repeatedly spilled over, with artillery and mortar fire landing inside Turkish territory.
But in an apparent opposition victory, rebels captured a large military base near Aleppo over the weekend, helping solidify their control over a growing strip of land along the border that many opposition supporters hope will become fully liberated.
Video posted online showed fighters identifying themselves as a brigade belonging to the Free Syrian Army overrunning the base, used by the military’s 46th Regiment, in the Atareb area. They captured at least three tanks and other heavy weapons along with several trucks and some prisoners.
“We’ll give this booty to our fighters who are trying to topple the regime,” said Gen. Ahmad al-Faj, who belongs to a joint command of rebel brigades, as quoted by The Associated Press. Rebels attacked the base on Saturday and gained full control on Sunday, the general said.
“There has never been a battle before with this much booty,” he said.
In Damascus, fierce fighting rocked many neighborhoods.
In a symbolic strike at a high-profile symbol of the government, two mortars struck the Information Ministry, which also houses the publication department of the ruling Baath Party.
One fell in the parking lot while the other hit the facade of the tall white building along a main thoroughfare in the middle-class Mezze neighborhood. There were no injuries but some material damage, according to a Syrian state television report.
In other fighting, the western suburbs of Damascus endured repeated heavy shelling, according to the Local Coordination Committees, an activist organization, while renewed attempts by government forces to storm the opposition stronghold of Daraya failed.
Clashes also continued in and around the central city of Homs. At lease nine government soldiers were killed and more than 20 were wounded when a booby-trapped truck exploded near a weapons warehouse in the town of Mheen outside Homs, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that tracks the fighting from abroad.
Official Syrian news media stopped reporting the toll on the government side in June.

Stephen Castle contributed reporting from London, and Christine Hauser from New York.