FLASH : Syria Daily – Opposition’s Military Splits from the Politicians
By Scott Lucas February 20, 2014 16:10 Updated – eaworldview – upreme Military Council rejects Syrian National Coalition’s dismissal of General Salim Idriss – 16 commanders sign statement in support of Idriss
Breaking from the politicians of the Syrian National Coalition, senior officers of the opposition’s Joint Military Command have rejected the dismissal of its commander, General Salim Idriss (pictured). Flanked by senior officers on Wednesday, General Salim Idriss read out a statement, signed by 16 commanders, which condemned the Cpalition’s “improvised”, “unlawful”, and “illegitimate” decision.
Led by Coalition head Ahmed Jarba and Defence Minister Asaad Mustafa, the Supreme Military Council named Abdel Ilah al-Bashir, the commander of the Quneitra Front in southern Syria, as the new head of the SMC on Sunday. The measure followed a visit by Jarba to northwest Syria, where he met Jamaal Ma’arouf, the head of the Syrian Revolutionaries Front. The 16 commanders responded on Wednesday with a call from support from “all military and revolutionary forces”: “General Salim Idriss has been tasked to carry out a comprehensive restructuring initiative of the Supreme Military Council, including the moderate military and revolutionary forces on the ground in order to invest in all available human resources accordingly.” Idriss’s critics say he has been ineffective in obtaining foreign support for the insurgency. His supporters respond that it is the Coalition’s politicians, far from the battlefield in Syria, who are out of touch. http://eaworldview.com/2014/02/syria-daily-oppositions-military-splits-politicians/