bbc news - guide to the syrian opposition

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MIDDLE EAST

12 July 2013 Last updated at 17:30 GMT

Guide to the Syrian opposition

More than two years after the upr ising began in Syria, the opposition r emains fractious and deeply divided.

The wide variety of political groups, exiled dissidents, grassroots activists and armed militants have been unable to agree on how to

overthrow PresidentBashar al-Assad.

Several groups, however, have tried to form coalitions to unite opposition supporters in Syria and gain international help and recognitio

Here is a guide to some of the mostprominentgroups.

National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces

In November 2012, Syrian opposition factions agreed to setup a newand more inclusive leadership council ata meeting in Doha,

Qatar .

Itwas hoped the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which includes members fromwithin Syria and

abroad, would gain widespread international recognition as the country's sole legitimate representative, become the conduitfor all

financial and possibly military aid, administer areas controlledby rebel forces, and plan for a post-Assad transition.

'Civil, democratic Syria'A blueprint for the National Coalition was outlined in a document published by the veteran dissident Riad Seif , who was

subsequently electedone of its two vice-presidents. His proposals were based on the Cairo conference documents agreed in July

2012, which called on revolutionary and political opposition factions to "unite under one leadership framework".

Following the Doha meeting, the National Coalition declared on its Facebook page that itwas working "to aid and support the

revolutionary forces struggling to overthrowthe Assad regime and to transition Syria towards a democratic and pluralistic civil state".

"The coalition also plays an important role in liaising betweenthe needs of the Syrian people and the international community," itadded

According to its websit e, the National Coalition is dedicated to:

Ensuring absolute national sovereignty and independence for Syria

Preserving the unity of the Syrian people

Preserving the unity of the country and its cities

Overthrowing the regime, dismantling the security forces, and holding responsible parties accountable for crimes against the Syrian people

Not engaging in any dialogue or negotiations with the regime

Upholding the opposition's commitment to a civil, democratic Syria'Serious step'

The Doha meeting was a response to increasing pressure fromthe opposition's foreign backers to forma newalliance thatsuperseded

the Syrian National Council (SNC), which was widely viewed as ineffective, consumed by infighting and little respected on the ground.

Reaction within the SNC was mixed, with some groups concerned thatthey would only control 22 seats on the leadership council, butt

alliance's chairman George Sabra asserted at the time: "This is a serious step againstthe regime and a serious step towards freedom

The National Coalition also includes members of the Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), a network of grassroots opposition activis



as well as representatives of the local revolutionary councils. Italso has the supportof the rebel Supreme Military Council (SMC) and

Free Syrian Army (FSA).

However, itdoes not include the National Co-ordination Committee, which represents the internal political opposition groups thatreject

violence and want to negotiate with the government, and several militantIslamistgroups fighting alongside the rebels, includingthe al-

Nusra Front.

International reaction to the National Coalition was generally positive. The sixmember states of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC)

were first to recognise itas "the legitimate representative" of the Syrian people, followed by France, the UK, EU and US.

In December 2012, 100 countries at the Friends of the Syrian People conference in Marrakech also recognised the coalition. Absent

were Russia, China andIran, which have backed PresidentAssad or blocked action by the UN Security Council.

Resignation

Despite its international support, the National Coalition has suffered many of the problems experienced by the SNC, on which it is still

dependentoperationally and organisationally, including internal divisions and outside interference.

The National Coalition's firstpresident, Sunni cleric Moaz al-Khatib, declared thathe was resigning in March 2013, complaining that

foreign powers were placing too many conditions on aid to opposition and armed rebel groups, and were trying to manipulate events fo

their own interests.

The resignation came five days after Ghassan Hitto was elected prime minister of the National Coalition's interimgovernment, whose

creation Mr Khatib believed was premature. Mr Hitto's candidacy was backed by the MuslimBrotherhood, whichdominates the SNC,

andthe National Coalition's secretary general, Mustafa Sabbagh, a businessman who has strong links to Qatar.

The previous month, the SNC had publicly criticised Mr Khatib for saying he would be ready to attend talks with Vice-President Farouq

al-Sharaa ina third country if the Syrian governmentmetseveral conditions, including the release of tens of thousands of political

prisoners.

The National Coalition has also been unable to assertoverall command over Syria's rebel forces, particularly jihadistgroups.

Ithas similarly struggled to address the humanitarian crisis, in partbecause of a lack of funding. An Assistance Co-ordination Unitwas

setup, butithas struggled to carry outanything ona significantscale. The coalition has also so far failed to administer liberated areas

andprovide basic services and supplies.

In May 2013, a coalition of leading rebel groups issued a joint statement sharply criticising the National Coalition, accusing itof failin

to fulfil its duties, and of allowing itself to be taken over by regional and international players.

The National Coalition overhauled its leadershipata conference in Istanbul in J uly 2013, with candidates backed by Saudi Arabia

defeating those supported by Qatar in a series of elections. Ahmed J arba, an influential tribal figure with close ties to Riyadh, was

named presidentafter he narrowly defeated Mr Sabbagh in a run-off vote.

Mr Jarba said he expected advanced weapons supplied by Saudi Arabia to reach rebel fighters "soon" andchange the military balanc

in Syria. He also said the National Coalition would notattend peace talks in Geneva planned by the US and Russia unless its militaryposition improved. "If we are going to go to Geneva we have to be strong on the ground, unlike the situation now, which is weak," he

told Reuters.

Syrian National Council (SNC)

The Syrian National Council (SNC) is a coalition of opposition groups formed in October 2011 to offer a credible alternative to the

Syrian governmentand serving as a single pointof contactfor the international community.

The currentpresident is George Sabra, a Christian and a veteran leftistdissident.

He replaced AbdelbasetSayda, a Kurd, in November 2012, shortly before the creation of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionar

andOpposition Forces.



Mr Sayda and his predecessor, Burhan Ghalioun, were both criticised for failing to reconcile differentgroups within the opposition and

presenta unitedfront.

The SNC's website says it is committed to the following principles:

Working to overthrowthe regime using all legal means

Affirming national unity among all components of Syrian society and re jecting all calls f or ethnic strife

Safeguarding the non-violent character of the Syrian revolution

Protecting national independence and sovereignty, and rejecting foreign military intervention

Ithas laid outplans for a transitional period which would see it:

Forman interim administration

Hold an all-inclusive national convention on democratic change

Organise the election of a constitutional assembly within a year to draft a newconstitution and hold free parliamentary elections within sixmonths of the new

constitution being approved

Forma judicial commission to investigate crimes against humanity and forma national reconciliation commission

The newSyria, the SNC states on its website, will be a "democratic, pluralistic, and civil state; a parliamentary republic with sovereignty

of the people based on the principles of equal citizenship with separation of powers, smooth transfer of power, the rule of law, and the

protection and guarantee of the rights of minorities".

The SNC, which is dominated by Syria's majority Sunni Muslimcommunity, has struggled to win over Christians and members of

PresidentAssad's Alawite sect, who each make up about10% of the population and have so far stayed loyal to the government. The

council's primacy has also been challenged by the National Co-ordination Committee (NCC), an opposition bloc thatstill functions with

Syria and is led by longstanding dissidents, some of whomare wary of the Islamists within the SNC. Several members of the SNC have

also complained about its ineffectual leadership.

The SNC has also found itdifficult to work with the Free Syrian Army. However, the two groups have agreed to co-ordinate their

operations and the SNC has urged the international community to supportthe rebels.

In November 2012, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the SNC could "no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the oppositio

andcalled for an opposition leadership structure thatcould "speak to every segmentand every geographic partof Syria".

Following the creation of the National Coalition, Mr Sabra insisted that the SNC would notbe "subsumed under anybody".

"The SNC is older than this initiative or any other initiative, and ithas a deep political and regional structure," he said.

Ali Sadr al-Din al-Bayanuni - the deputy leader of the MuslimBrotherhood, which dominates the SNC - said there had been "much

exaggeration" in the talk of divisions within the opposition.

He also complained thatthe SNC had never received the financial and military support itneeded to overthrowthe government, and

accused the international community of failing in its commitments to the Syrian people.

National Co-ordination Committ ee (NCC)

Formed in September 2011, the National Co-ordination Committee (NCC) is made up of 13 left-leaning political parties, three Kurdish

political parties, and independentpolitical and youth activists.

It is led by the veteran opposition figure HusseinAbdul Azim.

The NCC differs from the Syrian National Council (SNC) on the questions of dialogue with the governmentand foreign intervention.

The NCC calls for dialogue conditional on the withdrawal of the military fromthe streets, the end of attacks on peaceful protesters by

security forces, and the release of all political prisoners.

The group is strongly opposed to any formof foreign intervention thatwould involve military measures, such as a no-fly zone, and wou

prefer economic sanctions and other diplomatic measures to increase pressure on PresidentAssad.



"We re jectforeign intervention - we think it is as dangerous as tyranny. We re jectboth," Mr Azimsaid lastyear.

It is the only group to have called for conditional dialogue with the government, arguing it remains the leastcostly route to political

transition.

Despite this, the NCC has refused to engage in the government's national dialogue initiative, saying thatthe authorities are merely tryin

to buy time while they ''liquidate the forces of the uprising''.

The NCC has also been reluctantto affiliate itself with the SNC and challenged its primacy, with some members said to be wary of the

influence of the MuslimBrotherhood on the umbrella group.

Military groups

The Free Syrian Army was formed in August2011 by army deserters based in Turkey and is now led by Gen SalimIdriss.

Atits founding, the group said it would seek to "work hand in hand with the people to achieve freedomand dignity, topple the regime,

protectthe revolution and the country's resources and stand up to the irresponsible military machine which is protecting the regime".

While the FSA has claimed to have as many as 40,000 men under their command, analysts believe there may be no more than 10,000

They are also still poorly armed, and many have only basic military training. The FSA has admitted that itis unable to directly confront

the Syrian army, which is estimated to have 200,000 soldiers, and hold on to territory.

Nevertheless, a growing number of defections, partly caused by sectarian division, is weakening the military, strengthening the FSA an

increasing the violence. The army's rank and file is largely Sunni while its leadership is mainly Alawite.

'Liberated'

Atfirst, the FSA's fighters were limited to small-scale attacks in the north-west. Butsoon operations spread to the cities of Homs and

Hama, and major rebellions were launched, triggering a series of governmentcrackdowns.

In J anuary 2012, a string of the capital's eastern suburbs briefly fell into FSA control, bringing the armed rebellion to the city's outskirts

for the firsttime. However, security forces forced the rebels to retreatwithin days.

The FSA suffered a major setback in February 2012, when the military launched a major offensive on its strongholds in Homs, notably

the districtof Baba Amr. Activists said an estimated 700 people were killed as rockets and shells rained down for nearly a month. Troop

moved into the city in early March after the FSA staged a "tactical withdrawal".

The insurrection appeared to be on the verge of being crushed, and the rebels spent the next two months regrouping.

The sides said in April they would abide by a ceasefire negotiated by the UN and Arab League's envoy, Kofi Annan, as partof his

peace plan. However, the FSA and the governmentaccused each other of violating the conditions and fighting resumed.

'Guerrilla tactics '

In mid-J uly 2012, the rebels launched audacious and deadly attacks in the heartof Damascus for the firsttime, targeting military and

intelligence bases and briefly taking control of several areas before the governmentsent in large numbers of troops and tanks to

recapture them.

The group also claimed thatan affiliate was behind the bombing inside the headquarters of the National Security Bureau (NSB) in

Damascus on 18 J uly, which killed PresidentBashar al-Assad's brother-in-law, Gen Assef Shawkat, Defence Minister Gen Daoud

Rajiha, former Defence Minister Gen Hassan Turkomani and NSB chief Gen Hisham Ikhtiar.

Less than a week later, the FSA launched a large-scale attack on security forces in Aleppo, reportedly prompting the military to send

thousands of reinforcements, as well as deploying warplanes to strafe rebel-held areas for the firsttime in 16 months.

Col Malik al-Kurdi, a spokesman for the FSA command, said the rebels would nottry to holdon to the territory they had seized in Syria

two biggestcities because they could notconfront the better-equipped regular army or the elite Republican Guards.



"The Free Syrian Army is carrying outa war of harassing the regime army until it is exhausted, using guerrilla tactics," he told the

Washington Post. "We can'tkeep control of an area, so this is a circular operation, moving fromone place to another, one city to

another."

FSA fighters began by using only lightweapons, butdo already have more sophisticated and heavier weaponry thathas either been

captured or smuggled in fromabroad.

US officials and Arab intelligence officers told the New York Times in J une thatautomatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition

andsome anti-tank weapons were being funnelled, mostly across the Turkish border, by way of a "shadowy network of intermediaries"including Syria's MuslimBrotherhood, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

A small number of CIA officers were also operatingsecretly in southern Turkey, helping allies decide whichSyrian opposition fighters

would receive the weapons, in an effortto preventthemfalling into the hands of groups allied to al-Qaeda, they added. They were also

reportedly providing satellite imagery and intelligence on troop movements, and advising howto establish command and control system

Human righ ts abuses

The FSA has functioned primarily as an umbrella group for army defectors, civilians who have taken up arms and Islamistmilitants.

Though they work towards a similar goal - the overthrow of PresidentAssad - many are thoughtto adopt the name "Free Syrian Army"

to underscore their revolutionary aspirations, their army background or thatthey are notpro-governmentmilitiamen.

FSA leaders have told the UN Human Rights Council thatcommanders in the field did notreceive orders fromitand made their ownrules of engagement.

The council said ithad documentedinstances of gross human rights abuses committed by members of various FSA groups. In Homs,

FSA members were found to have tortured and executed suspected members of the pro-governmentmilitia, the Shabiha, in retaliation

for abuses committed by them.

Some armed civilians in Homs, including those belonging to the FSA, have also allegedly soughtto kill the family members of Shabiha

andsecurity forces personnel to exactblood revenge, or take themhostage.

The FSA's leadership has also found itdifficult to work with the Syrian National Council (SNC), which has publicly stated that itwants to

safeguard the uprising's "non-violentcharacter".

However, in J anuary the two groups agreed to co-ordinate their operations more closely through a liaison office and the SNC has

appealed to the international community to supportthe rebels "by means of military advisers, training and provision of arms to defend

themselves".

The FSA has also acknowledged thatsome foreign jihadistmilitants, including those linked to al-Qaeda, have travelled to Syria to join it

ranks, butclaims they do notplay a decisive role.

Islamist elements and clashes

Many groups within the framework of the Free Syrian Army are Islamist in character, and the rhetoric is often religious in tone, making

difficult to distinguish between those who sympathise with moderate political Islam, and ultraconservative Salafistextremists. This lack o

clarity is one of the main reasons why Westerngovernments have been so unsure aboutwhether to armrebel groups.

However, there are a number of groups clearly notformally working within the FSA framework, who are increasingly clashing with FSA

groups, and whose fighting tactics and ideological aims prove their extreme Salafistorientation.

The Nusra Front - or J abhatal-Nusra, the defence frontfor the people of greater Syria - is arguably the country's mostpowerful

jihadistgroup. Thoughtto comprise around 6,000 fighters, ithas claimed responsibility for a number of high-profile attacks in Syria's

main cities.

Founded early in the conflictwith help fromal-Qaeda in Iraq, ithas benefited fromthe network's experience andfunding, and has also

worked to provide services to local people caught in the crossfire. The US has designated the Nusra Fronta terrorist organisation.



The Syrian Islamic Front - is an umbrella group comprising the 12 other key Salafistgroups fighting in Syria. Estimates of combined

numbers of fighters range from10,000 - 25,000. Like the Nusra Front, these groups all seek to establish an Islamic emirate in Syria.

The mosthigh-profile is Ahrar al-Sham, which originated in the north of the country. Like the Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham has made

itself indispensable to the rebel cause, and its fighters are said to have been presentatevery major assault in the country since mid-

2012.

While mostof these more extreme groups have worked in tandemwith regular FSA fighters, disputes over resources and territory have

started to cause conflictbetween them. The murder of an FSA commander atthe hands of an Islamistgroup in J uly 2013 has

highlighted the dangerous risk of further splits.

Those who argue for the arming of Syria's rebels worry thatwithouthelp, the well-funded and highly- resourced Islamistgroups would

gain the upper handover the less well-equipped or experienced FSA.

But the danger of weapons falling into extremisthands has meantwesterngovernments have stalled over this option.

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