Leadership of Free Syrian Army dismissed

Beirut, Sep 22 (IANS/EFE) The Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the main opposition political alliance, has dissolved the leadership of its armed wing, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) led by Gen. Abdelila al-Bashir, on the grounds that it does not represent all the opposition forces.

In a statement Monday, the head of the SNC, Hadi al-Bahra, explained that the "dissolution" of the Supreme Military Council of the FSA was aimed at including all the military factions and revolutionary groups operating in Syria.

The FSA receives military support from the US which plans to train 5,000 FSA men to fight the Islamic State (IS) Sunni extremist group in Syria.

Bahra said that the Syrian revolution was going through a stage where it needed to unify its ranks, reorganise its institutions, and correct errors to boost its forces' efficiency and capabilities.

These measures would achieve the aspirations of the Syrian people in the fight against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the IS, the opposition leader said.

Bahra added that several members of the Supreme Military Council were removed due to disagreements.

The FSA's problems date back to earlier this year when the SNC dismissed Al-Bashir's predecessor Gen. Selim Idris for lack of progress in the struggle against al-Assad.

Following the appointment of Al-Bashir as head of the FSA, there was an attempt to restructure the force, but it never progressed.

--IANS/EFE

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