ISTANBUL: The Syrian National Coalition, the main exiled opposition group seeking the overthrow of Bashar Assad, was meeting Tuesday outside Istanbul to choose a new president tasked with keeping alive the campaign to unseat the Syrian regime.
The Western-backed coalition, which was formed at a meeting in Doha in 2012 to unite various anti-Assad groups, has been criticized for its failure to secure significant military and political backing for rebels inside the country.
The meeting is also overshadowed by the advance of Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria who have now declared the imposition of a caliphate on swath of territory in both countries.
A decision on the successor to Ahmad Jarba as the new leader of the coalition could be made late Tuesday at the meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sile or Wednesday, sources close to the talks told AFP.