Captain Ayham al-Kurdy, 30, head of a Free Syrian Army brigade from the embattled city of Hama, said that the Feb. 26 referendum was a sham.Graeme Smith/The Globe and Mail
Syrian rebel leaders based in Turkey have settled an argument within their ranks about the overall direction of their fight against the regime, a rebel officer says, expressing hope that the agreement will lead to stronger supply lines for the rebellion.
Captain Ayham al-Kurdy, 30, an officer of the Free Syrian Army, confirmed rumours that opposition leaders met at a refugee camp last week to talk about a simmering dispute between the two most prominent Syrian defectors.
Resolving such arguments is key to the FSA's ability to serve as a conduit for support to the rebels, if international donors start making large contributions.
Colonel Riad al-Asaad, who founded the FSA last summer, wanted to focus external support on rebel brigades in northern Syria, in a strategic bid to carve out an enclave of control in a border province.
His rival, a recent defector named General Mustafa Sheikh, argued in favour of backing the rebels across the country, wherever the uprising has greatest strength.
Rebel officers decided that the general's strategy was better than the colonel's plan for a northern front, Mr. al-Kurdy said. The young captain did not attend the planning session, but said his superiors informed him of the decision.
"I'm happy about this plan," said Mr. al-Kurdy, who serves as an officer with the Hama Martyrs Brigade, a rebel group in central Syria.
Public disputes between opposition leaders made some of his former colleagues in the Syrian military feel hesitant about defecting, he added.
"Now you will see more officers quitting the fight against us," Captain al-Kurdy said.
The Free Syrian Army has limited resources to distribute; most of its direct support for the rebellion consists of modest cash donations to rebels on the front lines. That may change in the coming weeks, however, as Gulf states and other international donors consider funnelling aid to the rebels through the FSA.
Two sources who meet regularly with rebel leaders, one foreign and the other Syrian, confirmed the dispute over strategy between the colonel and general. The argument over how to distribute resources, however, may not be finished. The internal politics of the rebellion have been notoriously fractious in recent months, as new leaders dispute each others' claim to speak on behalf of the resistance.
Colonel al-Asaad held a meeting in December with the civilian group that aspires to lead the revolution, the Syrian National Council, and emerged with a promise that the SNC would back his rebel army with money and weapons. Earlier this month, however, the colonel called SNC leaders "traitors" in a televised interview because he claimed that the group failed to deliver on its promises.
Syrian rebels offer differing views on whose orders they're following, as well. Some claim to be taking directions only from Colonel al-Asaad, while others say that the military council set up by General Sheikh earlier this month has overall command of the colonel and his army.
Those splits within the opposition groups have made it difficult for them to gain international support for their effort to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. At a meeting on Syria in Tunis last week, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird was among several ministers who voiced concern about the opposition lacking "a clear vision for a post-Assad era."
Meanwhile, Turkish diplomats were reported to be intensifying their efforts to help the fractious Syrian opposition groups form a more united front in advance of a second "Friends of Syria" meeting set for next month in Istanbul.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted by the daily newspaper Hurriyet as saying he will meet with the SNC this week to urge its leaders to include all Syrian ethnic groups and religious sects.
Turkey, which has a 910-kilometre border with Syria, has been at the forefront of international criticism of President al-Assad's deadly crackdown on dissent and has become a haven for opposition activists.
With a report from Agence-France Press