Syria opposition chief resigns amid infighting

Syrian National Council chief Burhan Ghalioun said Thursday he is resigning to avert divisions within the opposition bloc, after activists on the ground accused him of monopolising power.

"I will not allow myself to be the candidate of division, I am not attached to a position, so I announce that I will step down after a new candidate has been chosen, either by consensus or through new elections," said the Paris-based academic.

His statement came as Syrian forces launched a blistering assault on the rebel stronghold Rastan in central Homs province, in a new bid to overrun one of the major opposition holdouts against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Ghalioun, who has led by consensus rather than through election since the SNC's founding in October 2011, was re-elected as the exile group's chairman in a vote held in Rome on Tuesday.

He said he would remain an SNC member "hand-in-hand with the young people who struggle, the young people of the revolution of dignity and freedom, until victory," while urging all opposition groups to overcome their divisions.

Highlighting those divisions, the Local Coordination Committees, a network of activists on the ground, threatened hours earlier to pull out of the SNC over its lack of collaboration with activists in Syria and "monopolisation" of power.

"The deteriorating situation in the SNC is an impetus for us to take actions, which could begin with a freeze (of LCC membership in the SNC) and end with a withdrawal if errors are not solved and demands for reform go unmet," said the network.

These "errors" were "a total absence of consensus between the SNC's vision and that of the revolutionaries"; "a marginalisation of most (LCC) representatives"; and "a monopolisation of decision-making by influential members of the executive bureau."

The LCC also criticised the SNC over the strong influence that Syria's Muslim Brotherhood wields over the coalition.

It nonetheless emphasised the "continuation of the revolution" as well as "the peaceful movement on the ground."

It also commended "the sacrifices of our heroes, the Free Syrian Army, in the defence of cities bombarded by the army of the regime, and their determination to protect peaceful demonstrations despite all the difficulties they face."

Clashes persist nationwide despite an April 12 truce brokered by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan as part of a six-point plan aimed at ending violence that has swept Syria since March 2011, when the uprising against Assad erupted.

Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 30 shells smashed into Rastan in a 10-minute period after midnight, and urged UN observers monitoring a shaky truce to immediately rush to the town.

"The army is trying to gradually destroy Rastan," Abdel Rahman told AFP.

There were no reports on casualties.

Assad, in an interview with Russian TV, on Wednesday accused the West of ignoring violence by "terrorists" and said he would demand an explanation from Annan when he visits Damascus this month.

He complained that, since the arrival of the UN observers there had been a rise in "terrorist attacks" despite a reduction in "direct confrontation" between government forces and their foes.

"The West only talks about violence, violence on the government side. There is not a word about the terrorists," he said.

Assad denounced the armed opposition as a gang of "criminals" who he said contained religious extremists, including members of Al-Qaeda. He also said many "foreign mercenaries" from Arab states fighting for the rebels had been killed.

Russia, a key ally of Assad's regime, cautioned Western powers against launching "hasty" wars that could lead to the rise of radical Islamist factions and all-out regional war.

"The consequence of hasty military operations in foreign states usually means that radicals come to power," said Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's premier and former president.

"And sometimes these actions -- which undermine state sovereignty -- could result in a fully-fledged regional war," he said, in clear reference to Moscow's current standoff with the West over Syria.

Syria-linked violence flared again Thursday in the north Lebanon port city of Tripoli, where one person was killed and seven wounded, a security official said.

The sectarian clashes erupted in the neighbourhoods of Bab al-Tebbaneh, a Sunni stronghold whose residents support Syria's opposition, and Jabal Mohsen, populated mainly by Alawites loyal to Assad's regime.

Clashes between the rival communities earlier this week killed nine people and sparked fears Syria's revolt could engulf its neighbour.

More than 12,000 people, the majority of them civilians, have died since the Syrian uprising began, according to the Observatory, including more than 900 killed since the truce came into effect.

The UN mission in Syria says it now has 236 military observers in the country.

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