Syrian opposition defense minister resigns

The Syrian opposition’s defense minister has resigned after reports of disagreements with the group’s head, opposition sources said on Monday.

Dissident Asaad Mustafa’s resignation from the government-in-exile highlights divisions among President Bashar al-Assad's opponents.

Mustafa, in his sixties,had been appointed to his post in November as part of a plan by the opposition National Coalition to administer rebel-held areas of the war-torn country, according to Reuters news agency.

A rebel source close to Mustafa told Reuters he resigned on Sunday night to protest a lack of funds for his fighters from Coalition head Ahmed Jarba.

But a source in the Coalition said Mustafa left after Jarba refused to appoint him as provisional prime minister, a post currently held by Ahmed Tumeh, a moderate Islamist.

Jarba will remain head of the Coalition until June, when a new leader will be elected unless his term is extended. (Reuters, Al Arabiya)