WASHINGTON POST: … The airport has been operating only sporadically in the past week, with some international airlines choosing to avoid using it altogether. A rebel offensive on the airport could shut it down to commercial traffic for the foreseeable future, cutting off one of the few links the country has to the outside world.
Also on Friday, Syrian rebel groups meeting in Istanbul chose the 30 members of a new unified command, designed to serve as a military counterpart to the Syrian opposition coalition that has been recognized by a handful of countries. The Istanbul gathering was attended by security representatives from the United States, France, Britain and other countries that are supporting the political opposition group, said a diplomat whose government sent a representative….
Some leaders of the rebel Free Syrian Army complained that they were not included in the new grouping, which they charged was dominated by the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and would divide rather than unify the rebel fighters. “I see a dark future because those who are taking over are guided and controlled by external will and are not free rebels fighting for the good of Syria,” said Col. Malik Kurdi, a Free Syrian Army spokesman… (more)
