Former Syrian PM Riad Hijab to compete for Coalition presidency

Former Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab, who defected in July 2012 from Bashar al-Assad's government, is to compete for the National Coalition presidency chair Sunday evening, sources said to Zaman Alwasl.

The Syrian opposition scheduled to meet on 15 and 16 January in Istanbul to elect a new leader or to re-elect the current president Ahmad Jarba, according to sources.

Mr Hijab departure was the highest-profile defection since the uprising began in March 2011.

Zaman Alwasl source said that Mr. Ahmad Jarba likely to keep his position as Geneva peace conference on the doorsteps.

''There's regional and international will to keep the coalition leadership as its, the source said.

Syrian businessman Mustafa Al-Sabbagh who lost July elections in a close run-off, has recommended Mr.Hijab to be the new rival of Jarba where the two opposition figures have tribal origins and big ties with Saudi Arabia.

Al-Sabbagh is seeking to get back his former position as NC secretary general, source say. 

Jarba, who represents the faction of Syrian veteran secular dissident Michel Kilo, has faced serious escalation for the past months over defecting many rebel groups from the free Syrian army- Coalition umbrella- and the mounting presence of al-Qaeda affiliates, besides the deep dividing in the SNC into three major camps; the Jarba camp, the Sabbagh camp, and the Muslim Brotherhood camp.

More than 130,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the conflict in Syria nearly three years ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

In a new tally, the group said 130,433 people have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011, including 46,266 civilians.