A number of atomized groups making up the motley Syrian opposition have agreed on Sunday to form a unified coalition set to represent all opponents of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The deal was reached at the talks in Qatari capital Doha, ongoing since the start of the past week, Al Jazeera television said.
Details of the agreement are still being discussed, the report said. The head of the new group, dubbed the Syrian National Coalition, is expected to be elected later on Sunday.
Coalition members include the Syrian National Council, the most well-known and, arguably, powerful of anti-Assad groups, which received its new leader last week in longtime dissident George Sabra, 65.
The Syrian National Coalition is expected to manage territories that the rebels took from Assad’s forces, set up a transitional government and handle opposition’s international contacts.
Between 20,000 and 37,000 people, by various estimates, have died in the 20-month-long internal struggle in Syria, where Assad’s regime is struggling to suppress a ragtag, but resilient insurgency opposed to his authoritarian rule.
