|
Syrian opposition group elects new leader
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] One of the main Western-backed Syrian opposition groups elected a new leader Saturday after the term of its former chief ended, it said in a statement.The ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... -based Syrian National Coalition said longtime member Anas al-Abda was elected president, replacing Khaled Khoja. It added that three other officials from the group have been named vice presidents. The coalition was once the main Western-backed opposition group. It is currently part of the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee, which was to represent the opposition in indirect peace talks with the Syrian government next week in Geneva. However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... the talks was thrown into doubt Friday, when HNC chief Riad Hijab said that circumstances were not suitable to resume the talks next week. Despite a truce brokered by the US and Russia, Syrian military operations are still ongoing, detainees have not been released by Damascus and little aid is entering rebel-held besieged areas, Hijab said in Gay Paree. The cease-fire went into effect on Feb. 27 and since then violence has dropped. The cease-fire does not include the ISIS group and the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria known as the Nusra Front. The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group that tracks Syria's civil war, reported on Saturday that during the first week of the cease-fire, 132 people, including 35 civilians, were killed in areas included in the agreement. The group said another 552 people were killed in areas where ISIS has a significant presence. Posted by: Fred 2016-03-06 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=447968 |