Syrian activists to form opposition council

Istanbul: A Syrian activist says a group of opposition members are set to announce a national council in their bid to present a united front against President Bashar Al Assad's regime.

Louay Safi, a US-based academic, tells the AP a group of activists will on Thursday announce a 130-member council, made up of 60 exiled opponents and 70 dissidents inside Syria.

Members of the group have been meeting in neighbouring Turkey in an attempt to form a unified platform, although not everyone among Syria's opposition, fragmented by ideology and mistrust, supports their initiative.

Safi says the Council is broad-based and includes Sunnis, Shiites, Alawites, Kurds and members of the Muslim Brotherhood. He says it is "open to everyone unless they are against democracy."