ISTANBUL, Turkey —
Syrian dissidents meeting here announced Tuesday that they have formed a national council to coordinate their efforts to topple the regime of President Bashar Assad.
The formation of the National Council of Syria was intended to help give an identity to an opposition that despite months of bloody anti-Assad rallies appears largely leaderless and without common goals.
The membership of the council, however, was not specified, though a spokesman said it would include 115 to 120 members from all factions of Syria’s opposition groups. About half of that membership was to be drawn from dissidents inside Syria.
Yaser Tabbara, a spokesman, said the names of those still in Syria likely would remain secret for their own safety.
The announcement of the council’s formation came five days after the United States, after months of delay, called for Assad to resign. U.S. officials had delayed asking for Assad to go in large part, analysts said, because U.S. officials were uncertain who the opposition was and what its goals were. Western European nations joined the United States in demanding that Assad step down.
A similar group, the National Transitional Council, was formed in Libya last spring after demonstrations demanding the ouster of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi drew tens of thousands into the streets. The council became the de facto government of eastern Libya after demonstrators stormed Gadhafi military bases, and its chief, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, is expected to lead Libya’s transition to democracy after Gadhafi is defeated.
Nation & World
Syrian dissidents form national council
- Nation & World
-
-
VIDEO: Bombing suspect allegedly wrote confession in boat
Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev allegedly penned a note inside the boat where he was found hiding from authorities, explaining his rationale for his part in the deadly explosion.
-
SLIDESHOW: Texas storms damage homes, uproot trees
After a series of tornadoes touched down outside Dallas, residents of many Texas communities are cleaning up.
-
MAP: Tornadoes carve across North Texas communities
As many as 10 tornadoes touched down soouthwest of Dallas, Texas on Wednesday.
-
Armed pharmacist foils would-be heist
One may have been bluffing about carrying a gun, the other wasn't. Hours after an attempted robbery at a drugstore the suspect was in jail and the pharmacist was left to tell reporters how his day began.
-
Tornadoes tear through East Texas; 6 people killed
A pack of tornadoes killed at least six people and injured dozens more in East Texas Wednesday night.
-
VIDEO: One by one, homes in Calif. subdivision sinking
Scott and Robin Spivey had a sinking feeling that something was wrong with their home when cracks began snaking across their walls in March. Within two weeks their property dropped 10 feet below the street.
-
IRS focus on Tea Party groups to be subject of criminal probe
Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a criminal investigation into the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of small-government advocacy groups for extra scrutiny.
-
VIDEO: Camera mounted on WTC spire captures installation
A GoPro camera shows the spire as it is permanently installed atop One World Trade Center on Friday, bringing the New York City structure to its symbolic height of 1,776 feet.
-
'Ghost ship' offered to highest bidder
The mysterious death of the owner of a sailboat, found without anyone on board last fall, has not deterred the coastal city of Newburyport, Mass., from offering the sloop for sale on a municipal auctiion website.
-
Millersville players help couple resuscitate ailing child
The Millersville University baseball team came up with a great save this week, but it had nothing to do with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament being played at Point Stadium.
- More Nation & World Headlines
-
