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Rebel group splits from Syrian opposition coalition | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Syrian National Coalition (SNC) President Mouaz al-Khatib (3-L) and and members of the Syrian National Coalition during a Syrian opposition groups meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, 23 May 2013.(EPA)


Syrian National Coalition (SNC) President Mouaz al-Khatib (3-L) and and members of the Syrian National Coalition during a Syrian opposition groups meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, 23 May 2013.(EPA)

Syrian National Coalition (SNC) president Moaz Al-Khatib (3-L) and and members of the Syrian National Coalition during a Syrian opposition groups meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 23, 2013. (EPA)

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—A Syrian rebel group announced its withdrawal from the Syrian National Coaltion (SNC) yesterday, after saying it had lost faith that the organization represented the groups fighting to bring down Bashar Al-Assad’s government.

The group, the “Syrian Revolution General Commission,” said it had lost trust in the organization after it failed to offer enough seats to members of rebel groups based in Syria.

The commission published a statement on its Facebook page that stated: “The foundations of the coalition were based on representing the rebels on the inside by allocating to them one third of the seats in the coalition. This did not happen even after the meeting in Istanbul.”

The group added that: “Upon forming the coalition, a promise of representation was given to the rebels, particularly to the commission, that allowed them to assign true representatives of the Syrian revolution from the inside—or so-called representatives of local councils. However, these seats were assigned to growing figures within the coalition, and once again the rebels were denied the right to assign true revolutionaries from within the revolution itself.”

The statement added: “The coalition was more concerned with appealing to the media than with political action in service of the revolution. This reflects weakness in political performance on behalf of the representatives.”

It also accused the SNC of being unduly influenced by its foreign backers, leading to infighting within the organization.

The statement ended with an accusation that the SNC had failed to allocate funds properly, “while our families in and outside of Syria struggle to supply even basic human needs.”