DHAKA: Syria’s main opposition National Coalition re-elected Ahmad Jarba as its leader during a general assembly meeting in Istanbul, the coalition said in a statement.

Jarba won 65 votes, beating his only rival Riad Hijab, the best-known defector from the regime of president Bashar al-Assad, by 13 votes.

Jarba, who is seen as close to key rebel backer Saudi Arabia, was first elected to head the Coalition in July, and will now lead the group for another six months.

His re-election comes at a sensitive time, less than three weeks away from slated peace talks in Switzerland that would bring rebels and regime representatives to the table.

The Coalition is set to discuss on January 6 whether to take part in the peace talks, though a key bloc, the Syrian National Council, has already announced it will boycott the so-called Geneva 2 process, reports daily Hurriyet.

BDST: 1901 HRS, JAN 06, 2014
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor