BEIRUT--The head of the Free Syrian Army, the U.S.-backed assemblage of ostensibly moderate Syrian opposition forces, has been removed from his post, according to a statement Sunday from the rebel command’s Supreme Military Council.
Brig. Gen. Salim Idriss is to be replaced by Brig. Gen. Abdul-Ilah Bashir Al-Noeimi, a rebel field commander in southern Syria, the statement said. The move appeared to be part of a broader shakeup of the rebel leadership as the Syrian conflict nears the three-year mark with little sign of a resolution.
Idriss, a high-profile defector from the Syrian army, served as the public face of the Free Syrian Army for the past 14 months and was a key intermediary with the United States and other nations providing cash and other aid to the rebels. Idriss was also frequently featured in interviews in the Western and regional press. However, some battlefield commanders and other critics regarded him as a rear-guard official with little impact on military strategy.
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