Syrian opposition makes push to unite

CAIRO -- The Arab League chief urged exiled Syrian opposition figures to unite at a meeting yesterday as a new Western effort to force President Bashar Assad from power faltered. Another 85 soldiers, including a general, fled to Turkey in a growing wave of defections.

Turkey's state Andolou news agency said the group of defectors included 14 other officers, ranging from a colonel to seven captains. It is one of the largest groups of Syrian army defectors to cross into Turkey since the uprising against Assad began.

More than one year into the Syrian revolt, the opposition is still hobbled by the infighting and fractiousness that have prevented the movement from gaining the kind of political traction it needs to present a credible alternative to Assad.

"There is an opportunity before the conference of Syrian opposition today that must be seized, and I say and repeat that this opportunity must not be wasted under any circumstance," Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby told nearly 250 members of the Syrian opposition at the opening of the two-day conference in Cairo.

"The sacrifices of the Syrian people are bigger than us and more valuable than any narrow differences or factional disputes," he said.

Nasser Al-Kidwa, deputy to UN special envoy Kofi Annan, said that unity of purpose and vision was "not an option, but a necessity if the opposition wants to bolster its popular support and trust and increase international support." The divisions are tied to issues at the heart of the revolution: Whether to seek dialogue with the regime, whether outside military intervention is needed and what ideology should guide a post-Assad Syria.

Unlike Libya's National Transitional Council, which brought together most factions fighting Moammar Gadhafi's regime and was quickly recognized by much of the international community, Syria's opposition has no leadership on the ground.

The Free Syrian Army, the main rebel group fighting regime forces, was not represented at the Cairo talks.