Free Syrian Army (FSA) officers unveiled on Sunday the founding of the Supreme Military Council, while the opposition Syrian National Coalition announced it has no links with the newly established council.
The announcement followed a meeting between 30 FSA officers in the southern Turkish province of Hatay.
FSA Chief of Staff Abdul-Karim al-Ahmad explained: "the old Military Council (founded three years ago) has been restructured in cooperation with the Revolutionary Command Council, and new members of the Council have been elected from the leaders of factions on the ground". Ahmad voiced hope that the new members will succeed in achieving the tasks entrusted to them in the coming stage.
In a statement released yesterday, the Syrian National Coalition denied any "relationship with the new Council".
The statement pointed out that "the declaration of the so-called new military council is only an attempt to mislead public opinion, carried out by some members of the old Council in order to abort the efforts carried out by the Coalition to form a unified command within a comprehensive national framework".
“The continuation of communication, consultation and coordination with the active factions on the ground to form a supreme military command is as an essential step to obtain the freedom of the Syrian people and the goals they rebelled for", the Coalition said.
The statement noted: "Chief of Staff Brigadier Ahmed Birri is officially in charge of conducting consultations with the factions, along with a committee of representatives of the military factions, in order to form the supreme military command".
"It is the duty of all those who care about the future of Syria and the victory of the revolution, especially the leaders of the old Military Council, to feel the responsibility and work to support the efforts of the Coalition in coordination with the military factions, instead of working to obstruct these efforts", the statement added.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
