Syrian rebels meet in Qatar after declaring unified ‘national army’

Syrian opposition delegates were in Doha on Thursday to meet with the Qatari foreign minister, following the creation of a “unified” rebel army in Syria.

Nizar Hiraki, the Syrian opposition’s ambassador to Qatar, said the visit to the Gulf state was part of a diplomatic offensive with sympathetic nations ahead of the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting in New York later in September.

The creation of the United National Army, which reportedly has the support of 44 Syrian rebel groups, was mandated by the Turkey-based Syrian Interim Government (SIG) and is set to be headed by SIG Prime Minister Jawad Abu Hatab.

It came following a meeting on Monday between the SIG and the fractured Syrian rebel groups. The meeting also discussed internal reform of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) and the need for a unified political authority under the Higher Negotiations Committee (HNC).