Syria’s diverse opposition has finally come together in an official coalition, a move that should help the movement gain international support as violence continues, with at least 10 protesters killed yesterday. The new Syrian National Council brings together protest organizers, Kurdish groups, Syria’s banned Muslim Brotherhood, and others; about half of its members are from within the country, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
“The fact that Islamists, secular figures, and activists on the ground are now on one council is a significant,” a diplomat says. “But they still have to demonstrate that they could be politically savvy and able to fill any political vacuum." The council has called for nonviolence, but noted in a statement that the government had brought the country “to the edge of civil war” and is “inviting foreign interference." Meanwhile, members of Bashar al-Assad’s regime conducted home raids last night into this morning, a human rights watchdog tells Bloomberg; many were arrested outside Damascus. The Washington Post has more on the new council. (More Syria stories.)
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