The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces ( ar, الائتلاف الوطني لقوى الثورة والمعارضة السورية), commonly named the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) ( ar, الائتلاف الوطني السوري), or the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) is a coalition of opposition groups in the Syrian civil war that was founded in Doha, Qatar, in November 2012. Former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Moaz al-Khatib, considered a moderate, was elected the president of the coalition, and resigned on 21 April 2013.

Riad Seif Riad Seif ( ar, رياض سيف; born 25 November 1946) is a Syrian political dissident and prominent businessman who founded and led the Forum for National Dialogue. Seif was elected to the Parliament of Syria in 1994 as an independent and agai ...

and

Suheir Atassi Suheir al-Atassi ( ar, سهير الأتاسي, Suhair al-ʾAtāsī; born 1971) is the leading female secular activist in the Syrian opposition, and co-vice-president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces betwe ...

, both prominent democracy activists and the latter a secular

human rights advocate A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

, were elected vice presidents. The post of a third vice president will remain vacant for a Kurdish figure to be elected.

Mustafa Sabbagh Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mo ...

was elected as the coalition's secretary-general. The coalition has a council of 114 seats, though not all of them are filled. On 31 May 2013, the coalition gave membership to 15 representatives of the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

, allowing direct representation of rebels from Syria in a political group for the first time. On 6 July, the coalition elected new leadership. Ahmad Asi Al-Jarba was elected president and Anas Al-Abdah was elected as secretary general. On 14 September 2013, the National Coalition selected Ahmad Tu'mah as prime minister of an interim government for Syria. On 25 September 2013, some Islamist factions rejected the Syrian National Coalition stating that "All groups formed abroad without having returned to the country do not represent us."

Structure and aims

At its creation in November 2012 the National Coalition elected Moaz al-Khatib as its president,

and

as vice-presidents and Mustafa Sabbagh as secretary-general. The coalition has a council of about 63 members, including 22 members from the

Syrian National Council The Syrian National Council (SNC; ar, المجلس الوطني السوري, ''al- Majlis al-Waṭanī as-Sūri'', french: Conseil national syrien), sometimes known as the Syrian National Transitional Council or the National Council of Syri ...

. On 24 March 2013 Moaz al-Khatib made a surprise announcement that he was stepping down as president of the coalition. Although he gave no reason at the time, he later talked of interference by international and regional actors; the interviewer named these as Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The coalition refused al-Khatib's resignation. Khatib was still considered the "primary voice" of the Syrian opposition, and the following day the

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

granted Khatib the position to head the coalition's delegation to the Arab League. He continued in office for almost another month before confirming his resignation on 21 April 2013. The main aims of the National Coalition are replacing the

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

government and "its symbols and pillars of support", "dismantling the security services", unifying and supporting the

, refusing dialogue and negotiation with the al-Assad government, and "holding accountable those responsible for killing Syrians, destroying yria and displacing yrians. The Syrian National Council withdrew from the coalition on 20 January 2014 in protest at the decision of the coalition to attend the Geneva talks.

Domestic recognition

The

Local Coordination Committees of Syria The Local Coordination Committees of Syria ( ar, لجان التنسيق المحلية في سوريا: ''LCCSyria'' or ''LCCs'') are a network of local groups that organise and report on protests as part of the Syrian uprising. In June 2011, t ...

(LCCSyria) stated that they " eaffirm theirparticipation in the National Coalition. The CCSyria haveworked hard, and will continue to spare no effort, to ensure the success of the National Coalition in its service to the revolution." The National Coalition was supported by the

from September 2013 or earlier. On 16 November 2012, there were 497 street demonstrations in Syria according to the LCCSyria, including 121 demonstrations in

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

that "expressed support for the National Coalition" and 104 demonstrations in

Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...

who called for the National Coalition to "support the revolutionaries". Following the election of the Coalition's president, several pro-Islamist media outlets have signalled their approvals for the formation of the new revolution bloc under the leadership of Sheikh Moaz Al-Khatib. Answering questions on his students' porta
EsinIslam
of The Awqaf London the London-based Damascene graduate African Muslim cleric, Sheikh Dr. Abu-Abdullah Abdul-Fattah Adelabu called upon the Islamists and their affiliates to support the coalition's leadership. Syrian National Coalition Milan supporters 17-11-2012

Syrian National Coalition Milan supporters 17-11-2012

Members of the

al-Nusra Front Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...

and 13 other armed groups stated in a YouTube video on 19 November 2012 that they "unanimously reject the conspiratorial project called the National Coalition and announce tsconsensus to establish an Islamic state

n Syria N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

. A day later, commanders of one of those groups, the al-Tawhid Brigade appeared in a video with members of the Aleppo Military Council and Transitional Military Council. They stated that they supported the National Coalition and that the previous day's statement was by "revolutionary forces on the ground" who were not sufficiently represented in the National Coalition. The head of the Free Syrian Army in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, Abdel Jabbar al-Okaidi, responded to the 19 November statement, saying, "These groups represent a number of military factions on the ground and reflect their position, but not all military forces in Aleppo agree with this. The military council has announced its support for the National Coalition and is collaborating with t" Members of the groups listed in the 19 November statement were contacted by Thomson Reuters and stated that "they had nothing to do with the announcement" and that some members of their groups appeared in the video. On 21 November 2012, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which controls territory in the north of Syria, rejected the new coalition and criticised it for "obedience to Turkey and Qatar". The Kurdish National Council agreed to join the Syrian National Coalition; the PYD criticized the KNC for doing so. According to '' The Economist'', as of late September 2013, "In the month since America backed away from missile strikes to punish Syria’s regime for using chemical weapons, the Syrian Opposition Coalition has become increasingly irrelevant." In October 2013, the Supreme Military Council of the

, led by

Salim Idris Salim Idris ( ar, سلیم ادریس ''Salīm Idrīs'') (born 1958) is the former Chief of Staff of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) of the Syrian National Army, a Syrian armed opposition group. He has a PhD in "electronic radars" and spea ...

, met with Ahmad Jarba, then the president of the SNC. The SMC recognized the National Coalition as the "civil authority" of the Syrian opposition. In the course of 2015, a rival for representing Syrian opposition emerged in the form of the

Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...

and their political arm, the Syrian Democratic Council, which grew in the context of the

Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, is a de facto autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing sub-regions in the areas of Afrin, Jazira, Euphrates, Raqqa, Tabqa ...

. On 25 April 2018, the

al-Mu'tasim Brigade The Mu'tasim Division ( ar, فرقة المُعتصم, Firqat al-Mu'tasim), formerly the Mutasim Brigade ( ar, لواء المعتصم, Liwa al-Mu'tasim), is a Free Syrian Army faction active in the northern Aleppo Governorate, based in the town ...

, a FSA group based in the town of Mare', withdraw its recognition of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces due to the National Coalition's inability to make national decisions. The group's decision came hours after George Sabra,

, and

Khaled Khoja Khaled Khoja ( ar, خالد خوجة, tr, Halid Hoca, born 4 July 1965) is a Syrian- Turkish politician. He was the president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces from 2015 to 2016. He was born to a Turkish ...

resigned from the National Coalition.

International recognition

Syrian National Coalition Members 11-11-2012 (Press photo)

By March 2013, at least twenty states had recognized the SNC as 'the (sole) legitimate representative of the Syrian people'. However, most of them do not recognize official documents produced by it.

Diplomatic representation

Monzer Makhous Monzer Makhous (also ''Mounzir'', ; born 1946)) is a Syrian sedimentologist who became a member of the Syrian National Council during the Syrian civil war. , he was recognised by France as a representative of the National Coalition for Syrian ...

was recognised by France as a representative of the National Coalition and as the future Syrian Ambassador "once a provisional government is established and recognised internationally." On 20 November, the UK invited the coalition to appoint a political representative. On 26 November, the National Coalition appointed

Walid Safur Waleed (), also spelt as Walid, Oualid, or Velid, is an Arabic-language masculine given name meaning ''newborn child''. Given name Waleed *Waleed Ali, Kuwaiti footballer *Waleed Aly, Egyptian-origin Australian journalist *Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibr ...

to be its ambassador to the UK. On 23 November, Qatar asked the coalition to appoint an ambassador, becoming the first Arab country to publicly announce it will accept an envoy from the new opposition body. The SNCs embassy in Qatar was opened on 27 March 2013. On 5 May 2014, the Coalition was officially granted diplomatic status with the Washington office formerly recognized as a Foreign Mission in the US. Prior to giving foreign mission status to the Washington Office, the State Department shut down the current Washington Embassy along with several regional consulates.

Leadership

Presidents

Syrian Interim Government

At a conference held in Istanbul on 19 March 2013, members of the National Coalition elected Ghassan Hitto as prime minister of an interim government for Syria. Hitto has announced that a technical government will be formed which will be led by between 10 and 12 ministers. The minister of defence is to be chosen by the

Jawad Abu Hatab Jawad Abu Hatab (born 1962) is a Syrian politician. Since May 2016 he has served as Defence minister, Minister of Defence in the Syrian Interim Government. He also served as Prime Minister, resigning on 10 March 2019. Prior to his election as Pri ...

(born 1962) is acting Prime Minister of the Syrian Interim Government from 17 May 2016 until 10 March 2019.

Members and representatives

At present, the Syrian National Coalition consists of the

and other opposition groups and revolutionary groups, as listed in the following diagram, third column: }), , Local Council of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, , , - , 2, ,

( ar, رياض سيف), , National figures, , former Vice President , - , 3, ,

( ar, سهير الأتاسي), , Syrian Revolution General Commission, , former Vice President
Head of Humanitarian Support Unit , - , 4, ,

( ar, مصطفى صباغ), , Syrian Business Forum, , Secretary-General , - , 5, ,

Haitham al-Maleh Haitham al-Maleh ( ar, هيثم المالح, born August 15, 1931) is a Syrian human rights activist and former judge. He is a critic of the current Syrian government under Bashar al-Assad and has been imprisoned by the Syrian government because ...

( ar, هيثم المالح), , Council of Syrian Revolutionary Trustees, , Head of Legal Committee , - , 6, ,

Mouaffaq Nyrabia Mouaffaq Nyrabia ( ar, موفق نيربية; born 28 November 1949) is a Syrian dissident, politician, political writer and mechanical engineer, best known for his pivotal role in the creation of Damascus Declaration, a prominent Syrian Opposit ...

( ar, موفق نيربية), , Citizenship Movement, , Incoming ambassador: and :

and Vice President (2016) , - , 7, , Marwan Hajo ( ar, مروان حجو ) , ,

, , Head of Membership Committee , - , 8, ,

Walid al-Bunni Waleed (), also spelt as Walid, Oualid, or Velid, is an Arabic-language masculine given name meaning ''newborn child''. Given name Waleed *Waleed Ali, Kuwaiti footballer * Waleed Aly, Egyptian-origin Australian journalist * Waleed bin Ibrahim al-I ...

( ar, وليد البني), , National figures, , Spokesman , - , 9, ,

( ar, منذر ماخوس), , National figures, , Spokesman
Incoming ambassador: , - , 10, , Walid Saffour ( ar, وليد سفور ) , , Syrian Human Rights Committee, , Incoming ambassador: , - , 11, , Jaber Zain ( ar, جابر زعين), , Local Coordination Committees, , , - , 12, , Ahmad al-Assi al-Jarba ( ar, احمد العاصي الجربا), , Revolutionary Council of Syrian Clans, , , - , 13, , Mohammad al-Sabuni ( ar, محمد الصابوني), , Syrian Scholars Association, , , - , 14, , Sadiq Jalal al-Azm ( ar, صادق جلال العظم), , Unions of Syrian Authors, , , - , 15, , Alhareth al-Nabhan ( ar, الحارث النبهان), , Citizenship Movement, , , - , 16, , Bassam Yousef ( ar, بسام يوسف), , Ma'an Alliance, , , - , 17, , Yehia Ghiqab ( ar, يحيى غقاب), , Syrian National Democratic bloc, , , - , 18, , Khaled Khouja ( ar, خالد خوجة), , Turkmen component, , , - , 19, , Ziyad al-Hasan ( ar, زياد الحسن), , Turkmen component, , , - , 20, , Hussien Alabdullah ( ar, حسين العبد الله), , Turkmen component, , , - , 21, , Abdul Hakim Bashar ( ar, عبد الحكيم بشار), , Kurdish National Council, , , - , 22, , Mustafa Auso ( ar, مصطفى أوسو), , Kurdish National Council, , , - , 23, , Mohammad Abdo Kiddo ( ar, محمد عبدو كدو), , Kurdish National Council, , , - , 24, , Abdelilah Abdelmoeen Fahd ( ar, عبد الإله عبد المعين فهد), , Local Council of

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

, , , - , 25, , Mustafa Nawaf al-Ali ( ar, مصطفى نواف العلي), , Local Council of Raqqa, , , - , 26, , Jawad Abohatab ( ar, جواد أبو حطب), , Local Council of Rif Dimashq, , , - , 27, , Riyad al-Hasan ( ar, رياض الحسن), , Local Council of Deir ez-Zor, , , - , 28, , Moussa Mohammad Khalil ( ar, موسى محمد خليل), , Local Council of Quneitra, , , - , 29, , Ziyad Ghassan ( ar, زياد غسان), , Local Council of

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

, , , - , 30, , Mohammad Abdelsalam al-Sayed ( ar, محمد عبد السلام السيد), , Local Council of Tartus, , , - , 31, , Mohammad Qaddah ( ar, محمد قداح), , Local Council of Daraa, , , - , 32, , Adnan Rahmon ( ar, عدنان رحمون), , Local Council of

Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...

, , , - , 33, , Jalal Khanji ( ar, جلال خانجي), , Local Council of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, , , - , 34, , Salaheddin al-Hamwi ( ar, صلاح الدين الحموي), , Local Council of

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

, , , - , 35, , Mohammad Mustafa Mohammad ( ar, محمد مصطفى محمد), , Local Council of

al-Hasakah Al-Hasakah ( ar, ٱلْحَسَكَة, al-Ḥasaka; ku, Heseke/حەسەکە; syr, ܚܣܝܟܐ Hasake), is the capital city of the Al-Hasakah Governorate, in the northeastern corner of Syria. With a 2004 census population of 188,160, it is the e ...

, , , - , 36, ,

Khaled Abu Salah Khaled is a male Arabic name, and may refer to: People * Khaled Azhari (born 1966), Egyptian politician * Khaled Chehab (1886–1978), Lebanese politician * Khaled (musician), an Algerian Raï musician * DJ Khaled, a Palestinian-American DJ Sur ...

( ar, خالد ابو صلاح), , National figures, , , - , 37, , Yehya Kurdi ( ar, يحيى كردي), , National figures, , , - , 38, , Ali Sadreddine Al-Bayanouni ( ar, علي صدر الدين البيانوني), , National figures, , , - , 39, , Abdelkarim Bakar ( ar, عبدالكريم بكار), , National figures, , , - , 40, , Najib al-Ghadban ( ar, نجيب الغضبان), , National figures, , , - , 41, , Tawfiq Dunya ( ar, توفيق دنيا), , National figures, , , - , 42, , Ziyad Abu Hamdan ( ar, زياد ابوحمدان), , National figures, , , - , 43, ,

Kamal al-Labwani Kamal al-Labwani ( ar, كمال اللبواني; born October 10, 1957 in Zabadani, Syria) is a Syrian doctor and artist, He was released from Adra Prison, near Damascus on November 15, 2011, according to state media. Before his release, Amn ...

( ar, كمال اللبواني), , National figures, , , - , 44, , George Sabra ( ar, جورج صبرة), ,

, , former Acting President , - , 45, , Abdulbaset Sieda ( ar, عبد الباسط سيدا), ,

, , , - , 46, , Mohammed Farouk Tayfour ( ar, محمد فاروق طيفور), ,

, , , - , 47, , Burhan Ghalioun ( ar, برهان غليون), ,

, , , - , 48, , Nazir al-Hakim ( ar, نذير الحكيم), ,

, , , - , 49, ,

Samir Nashar Samir Nashar is the spokesman for the Syrian Free National Party, a small opposition party established in 2005. He is also a member of the Committee for Reviving the Civil Society. He was arrested by Syrian authorities on March 25, 2006 in Aleppo ...

( ar, سمير نشار), ,

, , , - , 50, , Ahmad Ramadan ( ar, أحمد رمضان), ,

, , , - , 51, , Jamal al-Wared ( ar, جمال الورد), ,

, , , - , 52, , Hussein al-Sayed ( ar, حسين السيد), ,

, , , - , 53, ,

Khaled al-Saleh Khaled is a male Arabic name, and may refer to: People * Khaled Azhari (born 1966), Egyptian politician * Khaled Chehab (1886–1978), Lebanese politician * Khaled (musician), an Algerian Raï musician * DJ Khaled, a Palestinian-American DJ Surna ...

( ar, خالد صالح), ,

, , Head of Media Committee , - , 54, ,

Hisham Marwah Hisham Marwah is a Syrian lawyer. He is the director of the legal office of the Syrian National Council The Syrian National Council (SNC; ar, المجلس الوطني السوري, ''al- Majlis al-Waṭanī as-Sūri'', french: Conseil ...

( ar, هشام مروة), ,

, , Member of the Executive office , - , 55, , Abdulahad Astepho ( ar, عبد الأحد اصطيفو), ,

, , , - , 56, , Salem al-Meslat ( ar, سالم المسلط), ,

, , , - , 57, , Bassam Isaac ( ar, بسام إسحاق), ,

, , , - , 58, , Mouti al-Batin ( ar, مطيع البطين), ,

, , , - , 59, , Khaled al-Naser ( ar, خالد الناصر), ,

, , , - , 60, , Mohammad Sarmini ( ar, محمد سرميني), ,

, , , - , 61, ,

Louay Safi Louay M. Safi is a Syrian-American, a scholar of Islam and the Middle East, and an advocate of Arab and Muslim American rights. He published on such issues as social and political development, modernization, democracy, human rights, and Islam an ...

( ar, لؤي صافي), ,

, , , - , 62, , Mohammad Khedr Wali ( ar, محمد خضر ولي), ,

, , , - , 63, , Hanan al-Balkhi ( ar, حنان البلخي), ,

, , , - , 64, , Wasel al-Shamali ( ar, واصل الشمالي), ,

, ,

References

External links

En.etilaf.org
*
Syrian Interim Government
{{Syrian civil war, state=collapsed Organizations of the Syrian civil war Politics of Syria