Anas al-Abde new head of Syrian opposition coalition

By Muhammed Shekh Yusuf and Adham Kako

ISTANBUL (AA) - Anas al-Abde was elected the head of the Syrian opposition coalition for the second time on Saturday.

Al-Abde was elected the head of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces following the end of Abdurrahman Mustafa’s term of office, said the coalition’s media office.

He secured 75 votes out of 82 in an uncontested election in the general assembly which was held in Istanbul.

Born in Syria's Damascus in 1967, Al-Abde was elected for the head of the coalition in 2016 for the first time.

After the conflict arose in Syria, he played an important role in establishing the Syrian National Council in 2012.

Same year, he also took part in the establishment of the opposition coalition, which was recognized by 122 countries.

Former head of the coalition and Turkmen politician Abdurrahman Mustafa was elected head of the Syria's interim government by taking 54 of votes out of 82, in the same general assembly.

Syria’s interim government was established on March 18, 2013 under the auspices of the national coalition. It is currently headquartered in Syria’s northwestern city of Azaz.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar