National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces

At its creation in November 2012 the National Coalition elected Moaz al-Khatib as its president, Riad Seif and Suheir Atassi as vice-presidents and Mustafa Sabbagh as secretary-general.[6] The coalition has a council of about 63 members,[9] including 22 members from the Syrian National Council.[6]

On 24 March 2013 Moaz al-Khatib made a surprise announcement that he was stepping down as president of the coalition. Although he gave no reason at the time, he later talked of interference by international and regional actors; the interviewer named these as Qatar and Saudi Arabia.[10] The coalition refused al-Khatib's resignation. Khatib was still considered the "primary voice" of the Syrian opposition, and the following day the Arab League granted Khatib the position to head the coalition's delegation to the Arab League.[11] He continued in office for almost another month before confirming his resignation on 21 April 2013.[4]

The main aims of the National Coalition are replacing the Bashar al-Assad government and "its symbols and pillars of support", "dismantling the security services", unifying and supporting the Free Syrian Army, refusing dialogue and negotiation with the al-Assad government, and "holding accountable those responsible for killing Syrians, destroying [Syria], and displacing [Syrians]".[12]

The Syrian National Council withdrew from the coalition on 20 January 2014 in protest at the decision of the coalition to attend the Geneva talks.[13]

The Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCCSyria) stated that they "[reaffirm their] participation in the National Coalition. The [LCCSyria have] worked hard, and will continue to spare no effort, to ensure the success of the National Coalition in its service to the revolution."[12] The National Coalition was supported by the Free Syrian Army[14] from September 2013 or earlier.[15]

On 16 November 2012, there were 497 street demonstrations in Syria according to the LCCSyria, including 121 demonstrations in Hama that "expressed support for the National Coalition" and 104 demonstrations in Idlib who called for the National Coalition to "support the revolutionaries".[16]

Following the election of the Coalition's president, several pro-Islamist media outlets have signalled their approvals for the formation of the new revolution bloc under the leadership of Sheikh Moaz Al-Khatib. Answering questions on his students' portal EsinIslam of The Awqaf London the London-based Damascene graduate African Muslim cleric, Sheikh Dr. Abu-Abdullah Abdul-Fattah Adelabu called upon the Islamists and their affiliates to support the coalition's leadership.[17]

Supporters of the Coalition in Bologna, Italy

Members of the al-Nusra Front and 13 other armed groups stated in a YouTube video on 19 November 2012 that they "unanimously reject the conspiratorial project called the National Coalition and announce[s] [its] consensus to establish an Islamic state [in Syria]".[14] A day later, commanders of one of those groups, the al-Tawhid Brigade appeared in a video with members of the Aleppo Military Council and Transitional Military Council. They stated that they supported the National Coalition and that the previous day's statement was by "revolutionary forces on the ground" who were not sufficiently represented in the National Coalition.[18] The head of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo, Abdel Jabbar al-Okaidi, responded to the 19 November statement, saying, "These groups represent a number of military factions on the ground and reflect their position, but not all military forces in Aleppo agree with this. The military council has announced its support for the National Coalition and is collaborating with [it]."[14] Members of the groups listed in the 19 November statement were contacted by Thomson Reuters and stated that "they had nothing to do with the announcement" and that some members of their groups appeared in the video.[19]

On 21 November 2012, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which controls territory in the north of Syria, rejected the new coalition and criticised it for "obedience to Turkey and Qatar".[20] The Kurdish National Council agreed to join the Syrian National Coalition; the PYD criticized the KNC for doing so.[21]

According to The Economist, as of late September 2013, "In the month since America backed away from missile strikes to punish Syria's regime for using chemical weapons, the Syrian Opposition Coalition has become increasingly irrelevant."[22]

In October 2013, the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army, led by Salim Idris, met with Ahmad Jarba, then the president of the SNC. The SMC recognized the National Coalition as the "civil authority" of the Syrian opposition.[23]

In the course of 2015, a rival for representing Syrian opposition emerged in the form of the Syrian Democratic Forces and their political arm, the Syrian Democratic Council, which grew in the context of the Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava.[24]

On 25 April 2018, the al-Mu'tasim Brigade, a FSA group based in the town of Mare', withdraw its recognition of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces due to the National Coalition's inability to make national decisions. The group's decision came hours after George Sabra, Suheir Atassi, and Khaled Khoja resigned from the National Coalition.[25]

Coalition members in Doha. In the center, former president al-Khatib, along with former VPs Seif and Atassi, as well as all SNC chairmen Ghalioun, Sieda and Sabra

By March 2013, at least twenty states had recognized the SNC as 'the (sole) legitimate representative of the Syrian people'. However, most of them do not recognize official documents produced by it.

Diplomatic recognition of the National Coalition as the legitimate representative of Syria

	Entity	Date of recognition	Direct terminology
1–18	Qatar	12 November 2012	Sole legitimate representative of Syria[26]
1–18	Yemen (Hadi government)	12 November 2012	Sole legitimate representative of Syria[26]
19	France	13 November 2012	Sole representative of the Syrian people and future interim government of democratic Syria[27][28]
20	Turkey	15 November 2012	Sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people[29]
21	Italy	19 November 2012	Legitimate representatives of the aspirations of the Syrian people (verbal declaration by the Italian Prime Minister during a TV network interview).[30]
22	United Kingdom	20 November 2012	Sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people[31]
23	Spain	29 November 2012	Sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people[32][33][34]
24–25	Denmark	9 December 2012	The legitimate representative of the Syrian people[35]
24–25	Norway	9 December 2012	The legitimate representative of the Syrian people[36]
26–29	Netherlands	10 December 2012	The legitimate representative of the Syrian people[37]
26–29	Germany	10 December 2012	The legitimate representative of the Syrian people[37]
26–29	Belgium	10 December 2012	The legitimate representative of the Syrian people[37]
26–29	Luxembourg	10 December 2012	The legitimate representative of the Syrian people[37]
30	United States	12 December 2012	"A" or "The" legitimate representative of the Syrian people[38]
31	Australia	13 December 2012	The legitimate representative of the Syrian people[39]
32	Malta	22 March 2013	Sole legal representative of the Syrian people[40]
–	European Union	19 November 2012	"Legitimate representatives of the aspirations of the Syrian people"[41]

As of 17 November 2012, Monzer Makhous was recognised by France as a representative of the National Coalition and as the future Syrian Ambassador "once a provisional government is established and recognised internationally."[42]

On 20 November, the UK invited the coalition to appoint a political representative.[43] On 26 November, the National Coalition appointed Walid Safur to be its ambassador to the UK.[44]

On 23 November, Qatar asked the coalition to appoint an ambassador, becoming the first Arab country to publicly announce it will accept an envoy from the new opposition body.[45] The SNCs embassy in Qatar was opened on 27 March 2013.[46]

On 5 May 2014, the Coalition was officially granted diplomatic status with the Washington office formerly recognized as a Foreign Mission in the US. Prior to giving foreign mission status to the Washington Office, the State Department shut down the current Washington Embassy along with several regional consulates.[47]

At present, the Syrian National Coalition consists of the Syrian National Council and other opposition groups and revolutionary groups, as listed in the following diagram, third column:[9]

	Name	Representation	Role
1	Moaz al-Khatib (Arabic: معاذ الخطيب)[6]	Local Council of Damascus
2	Riad Seif (Arabic: رياض سيف)[6]	National figures	former Vice President
3	Suheir Atassi (Arabic: سهير الأتاسي)[6]	Syrian Revolution General Commission	former Vice President Head of Humanitarian Support Unit
4	Mustafa Sabbagh (Arabic: مصطفى صباغ)[6]	Syrian Business Forum	Secretary-General
5	Haitham al-Maleh (Arabic: هيثم المالح)[9]	Council of Syrian Revolutionary Trustees	Head of Legal Committee
6	Mouaffaq Nyrabia (Arabic: موفق نيربية)	Citizenship Movement	Incoming ambassador:  EU and  Benelux:  The Netherlands  Belgium  Luxembourg and Vice President (2016)
7	Marwan Hajo (Arabic: مروان حجو)[60]	Syrian National Council	Head of Membership Committee
8	Walid al-Bunni (Arabic: وليد البني)[61]	National figures	Spokesman
9	Monzer Makhous (Arabic: منذر ماخوس)[42]	National figures	Spokesman Incoming ambassador:  France
10	Walid Saffour (Arabic: وليد سفور)	Syrian Human Rights Committee	Incoming ambassador:  United Kingdom
11	Jaber Zain (Arabic: جابر زعين)[9]	Local Coordination Committees
12	Ahmad al-Assi al-Jarba (Arabic: احمد العاصي الجربا)[9]	Revolutionary Council of Syrian Clans
13	Mohammad al-Sabuni (Arabic: محمد الصابوني)[9]	Syrian Scholars Association
14	Sadiq Jalal al-Azm (Arabic: صادق جلال العظم)[9]	Unions of Syrian Authors
15	Alhareth al-Nabhan (Arabic: الحارث النبهان)[9]	Citizenship Movement
16	Bassam Yousef (Arabic: بسام يوسف)[9]	Ma'an Alliance
17	Yehia Ghiqab (Arabic: يحيى غقاب)[9]	Syrian National Democratic bloc
18	Khaled Khouja (Arabic: خالد خوجة)[9]	Turkmen component
19	Ziyad al-Hasan (Arabic: زياد الحسن)[9]	Turkmen component
20	Hussien Alabdullah (Arabic: حسين العبد الله)[9]	Turkmen component
21	Abdul Hakim Bashar (Arabic: عبد الحكيم بشار)[9]	Kurdish National Council
22	Mustafa Auso (Arabic: مصطفى أوسو)[9]	Kurdish National Council
23	Mohammad Abdo Kiddo (Arabic: محمد عبدو كدو)[9]	Kurdish National Council
24	Abdelilah Abdelmoeen Fahd (Arabic: عبد الإله عبد المعين فهد)[9]	Local Council of Homs
25	Mustafa Nawaf al-Ali (Arabic: مصطفى نواف العلي)[9]	Local Council of Raqqa
26	Jawad Abohatab (Arabic: جواد أبو حطب)[9]	Local Council of Rif Dimashq
27	Riyad al-Hasan (Arabic: رياض الحسن)[9]	Local Council of Deir ez-Zor
28	Moussa Mohammad Khalil (Arabic: موسى محمد خليل)[9]	Local Council of Quneitra
29	Ziyad Ghassan (Arabic: زياد غسان)[9]	Local Council of Latakia
30	Mohammad Abdelsalam al-Sayed (Arabic: محمد عبد السلام السيد)[9]	Local Council of Tartus
31	Mohammad Qaddah (Arabic: محمد قداح)[9]	Local Council of Daraa
32	Adnan Rahmon (Arabic: عدنان رحمون)[9]	Local Council of Idlib
33	Jalal Khanji (Arabic: جلال خانجي)[9]	Local Council of Aleppo
34	Salaheddin al-Hamwi (Arabic: صلاح الدين الحموي)[9]	Local Council of Hama
35	Mohammad Mustafa Mohammad (Arabic: محمد مصطفى محمد)[9]	Local Council of al-Hasakah
36	Khaled Abu Salah (Arabic: خالد ابو صلاح)[9]	National figures
37	Yehya Kurdi (Arabic: يحيى كردي)[9]	National figures
38	Ali Sadreddine Al-Bayanouni (Arabic: علي صدر الدين البيانوني)[9]	National figures
39	Abdelkarim Bakar (Arabic: عبدالكريم بكار)[9]	National figures
40	Najib al-Ghadban (Arabic: نجيب الغضبان)[9]	National figures
41	Tawfiq Dunya (Arabic: توفيق دنيا)[9]	National figures
42	Ziyad Abu Hamdan (Arabic: زياد ابوحمدان)[9]	National figures
43	Kamal al-Labwani (Arabic: كمال اللبواني)[9]	National figures
44	George Sabra (Arabic: جورج صبرة)[9]	Syrian National Council	former Acting President
45	Abdulbaset Sieda (Arabic: عبد الباسط سيدا)[9]	Syrian National Council
46	Mohammed Farouk Tayfour (Arabic: محمد فاروق طيفور)[9]	Syrian National Council
47	Burhan Ghalioun (Arabic: برهان غليون)[9]	Syrian National Council
48	Nazir al-Hakim (Arabic: نذير الحكيم)[9]	Syrian National Council
49	Samir Nashar (Arabic: سمير نشار)[9]	Syrian National Council
50	Ahmad Ramadan (Arabic: أحمد رمضان)[9]	Syrian National Council
51	Jamal al-Wared (Arabic: جمال الورد)[9]	Syrian National Council
52	Hussein al-Sayed (Arabic: حسين السيد)[9]	Syrian National Council
53	Khaled al-Saleh (Arabic: خالد صالح)[9]	Syrian National Council	Head of Media Committee
54	Hisham Marwah (Arabic: هشام مروة)[9]	Syrian National Council	Member of the Executive office
55	Abdulahad Astepho (Arabic: عبد الأحد اصطيفو)[9]	Syrian National Council
56	Salem al-Meslat (Arabic: سالم المسلط)[9]	Syrian National Council
57	Bassam Isaac (Arabic: بسام إسحاق)[9]	Syrian National Council
58	Mouti al-Batin (Arabic: مطيع البطين)[9]	Syrian National Council
59	Khaled al-Naser (Arabic: خالد الناصر)[9]	Syrian National Council
60	Mohammad Sarmini (Arabic: محمد سرميني)[9]	Syrian National Council
61	Louay Safi (Arabic: لؤي صافي)[9]	Syrian National Council
62	Mohammad Khedr Wali (Arabic: محمد خضر ولي)[9]	Syrian National Council
63	Hanan al-Balkhi (Arabic: حنان البلخي)[9]	Syrian National Council
64	Wasel al-Shamali (Arabic: واصل الشمالي)[9]	Syrian National Council
65	Ahmad Baccora (Arabic: أحمد بكورة)[9]	Syrian National Council

• Politics of Syria

• BBC News: Guide to the Syrian opposition

• En.etilaf.org
• Official website (in Arabic)
• Syrian Interim Government