Syrian opposition form new coalition

DOHA - Syrian opposition groups announced in Doha Sunday the formation of a new coalition and Moaz al-Khatib as the united entity's head.

A formal agreement for forming the National Coalition for the Opposition Forces was signed Sunday evening in the Qatari capital of Doha by Khatib and George Sabra, the new head of major opposition group the Syrian National Council (SNC), a Xinhua reporter said.

The opposition groups signed earlier an initial agreement for forming the unity front amid increased international pressure to bridge their fractures and set up a united entity that could effectively confront the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Khatib, a preacher and scholar born in 1960 in the Syrian capital of Damascus, was elected by 54 out of 58 votes as the president of the new coalition.

Meanwhile, prominent dissident Riad Seif and human rights activist Sohir al-Atasy were chosen as Khatib's deputies, and Mostafa al-Sabbagh as the secretary general.

The opposition groups have been holding meetings for days in Doha to discuss a proposal by Seif on forming a united opposition front to help end the 20-month Syrian crisis and establish a transitional government headed by Seif.

The SNC, a main umbrella for Syrian opposition groups, had shown reluctance before signing the agreement, for concerns that the new coalition would weaken its influence.

Salem al-Maslet, a leading member of the major opposition group Syrian National Council (SNC), said earlier Sunday that the new coalition would include 60 seats, 22 of which are for members elected from the SNC.