Hadi al-Bahra, head of the Syrian National Coalition that grouped opponents of Bashar al-Assad during the civil war, said on Wednesday Syria's transitional government should be credible and not exclude any Syrian party or be based on sectarianism.
Hadi Al Bahra, president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, Reuters/Umit Bektas
Hadi al-Bahra, head of the Syrian National Coalition that grouped opponents of Bashar al-Assad during the civil war, said on Wednesday Syria's transitional government should be credible and not exclude any Syrian party or be based on sectarianism.
In a seismic moment for the Middle East, Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war, ending his family's decades-long rule.
The lightning offensive raised questions over whether the rebels will be able to ensure an orderly transition.
Representatives of the Syrian National Coalition had not met Syrian rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, but had communications with the caretaker government and parties close to him, al-Bahra said during a press conference in Istanbul.
Forces under the command of al-Sharaa - better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani - replaced the Assad family rule with a three-month transitional government that had been ruling a rebel enclave in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.
Al-Sharaa is the leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is designated a terrorist group by Western and regional powers.
Newly appointed Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir formerly led an HTS-affiliated government in Idlib.
The Syrian National Coalition would return to Syria and set up headquarters there, former Syrian opposition leader al-Bahra said, adding that he intended to return as well.
"Logistics should be worked out and freedom of speech should be guaranteed," he added.
Reporting by Clauda Tanios and Nayera Abdallah
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out missile and drone attacks on U.S. military bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz.
The ousted head of Turkey's main opposition party on Tuesday urged lawmakers to resist what he called a bid to eliminate it, while its court-appointed new leader pledged at a rival meeting to "cleanse the party of dirt", deepening an opposition crisis.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday Iran had shot down a U.S. Apache helicopter that was patrolling the Strait of Hormuz overnight and vowed to respond, but gave no other details.
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