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Syrian opposition elects former political prisoner as new leader

Arab World Materials 6 July 2013 20:07 (UTC +04:00)
The main opposition Syrian National Coalition Saturday elected Ahmed Aasi al-Jarba, a former political prisoner, as its new president, sources in the bloc said.
Syrian opposition elects former political prisoner as new leader

The main opposition Syrian National Coalition Saturday elected Ahmed Aasi al-Jarba, a former political prisoner, as its new president, sources in the bloc said.

Al-Jarba, a tribal figure backed by Saudi Arabia, won over his Qatar-backed rival Mustafa al-Sabbagh in a vote held in the Turkish city of Istanbul, the sources said.

The coalition has been without a leader since March when Sunni clergyman Moaz al-Khatib resigned, dpa reported.

The 115-member coalition, which groups key Syrian opposition figures living in exile and inside Syria, met for two days in Istanbul to elect a new leader.

Al-Jarba, who was jailed for two years, has a degree in political science, the sources said.

The coalition also elected Farouk Tayfur of the Muslim Brotherhood as one of two vice presidents. The other is Suheir Atassi, a well- known activist.

The alliance was created in Qatar in November to unify the Syrian opposition, which is fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

However, the bloc has since been mired in divisions mainly over proposals to negotiate an end to the 27-month conflict with al-Assad's regime.

More than 93,000 people have been killed in Syria since an anti-government revolt started in March 2011, according to the United Nations.

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