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Syrian opposition meet in Egypt, seek unified political solution for Syria Assad not part of any future solution, says Syrian opposition figure attending the conference
Syrian opposition forces met in Cairo on Monday at a conference to seek a unified political solution to Syria's ongoing civil war. At the opening of the conference, titled Towards a Political Solution in Syria, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed the necessity of a "purely national and complete Syrian vision for a political solution." Shoukry said that Syrian politics had come to a standstill, after regional and international efforts focused on military operations unfolding in the war-torn country. The foreign minister said that a Syrian national project must be put forth to garner the support of all sections of Syrian society to stop violence and interference in Syrian affairs and implement a political solution. The conference, which is held by the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, was also attended by Arab League Secretary-General Nabil El-Araby. Other attendees included figures from the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, Syria's main opposition group, in their personal capacity, as well as representatives from the National Coordination Committee and the Kurdish National Council and other prominent opposition figures, including Haitham Manaa and Fayez Sara. The Muslim Brotherhood, who are members of the National Coalition, were not allowed to attend, and the group is banned in Egypt. Syrian activist and member of the conference's preparatory committee Feras Khalidi told Ahram Online that there is a consensus between attending committee groups not to include the ruling Syrian regime in any future settlement. "Bashar [Al-Assad]'s regime will not be part of any agreement," he said. El-Khalidi also said that members of the conference had already agreed on several points, including the departure of all foreign fighters from the country and revoking all court rulings imposed by the regime since the eruption of protests against it in 2011. At the conference, Shoukry criticised Syrian authorities, saying the situation in Syria had deteriorated due to the regime using violence against peaceful protesters at the beginning of the uprising, which then opened the country to foreign meddling and militarisation, he said. "This is an attempt to bridge gaps between the different opposition forces," Khalidi said, alluding to an initial Syrian conference held in Egypt in January. Unlike his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi who was ousted in 2013, Egypt's current President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has continually advocated for a political settlement for the Syrian crisis and showed disapproval of fighting there. Armed rebels fighting Syrian government forces are chiefly comprised of Islamist fighters – the largest led by Islamist groups linked to Al-Qaeda, in addition to the Islamic State group which is fighting both sides and controls Syrian territory. The Syrian conflict has killed around 220,000 people, displaced about 7.6 million and forced an estimated 4 million to leave the country, Reuters reported. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/132294.aspx
