Syrian Opposition Opens Meeting in Istanbul

The Syrian National Council, which is trying to unite opponents to the regime of President Bashar Assad, was holding negotiations behind closed doors in Istanbul on Saturday.

Several opposition movements are trying to reach an alliance, a member of the SNC Halit Hoca told Agence France Presse.

"We have been holding discussions for several days with Burhan Ghalioun, there are also Kurds and representatives of tribes," he said.

Ghalioun, an academic based in France, was recently designated the leader of a rival opposition grouping, the National Transitional Council, which has Islamist and nationalist supporters.

"When the SNC meets, there will be a new assembly which will be expanded to these new movements," Hoca said, adding that the meeting originally scheduled to be held on Saturday would now not take place before Sunday at the earliest because of the negotiations.

The SNC, the largest and most representative Syrian opposition grouping, was founded in Istanbul at the end of August and numbers 140 figures, half of them living in Syria.

The Istanbul meeting of members currently outside Syria is due to elect the president of the SNC and heads of various committees.