DUBAI, May 19 (RIA Novosti) – The Syrian opposition government's Minister of Defense Asaad Mustafa has resigned, TV news channel Al-Arabiya reported Monday.
The opposition minister resigned from his post Sunday evening due to his disagreements with Ahmad Jarba, President of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, the news outlet said citing sources. Jarba had allegedly withheld funds to combat extremist groups and the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian National Coalition said that Mustafa had wanted to take up the post of provisional prime minister, but Jarba turned him down because of his failure as defense minister.
"He did not achieve anything. We lost Syria. We lost it to jihadis and to Assad," a Syrian National Coalition source said.
Asaad Mustafa served as Minister of Agriculture under Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad. In 2011 he joined the Syrian opposition. He was appointed to the post of Defense Minister for the “interim Syrian government” last November, with the support of Saudi Arabia.
The government was formed by the Syrian National Coalition to govern the territories controlled by the opposition. However, over the past six months, the opposition cabinet has failed to gain control over extremist groups in Syria.
