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Summary The United States denied that it was trying to control the make-up of Syria's next leadership.
Syrias main anti-regime group said Friday the US was undermining the countrys revolt by seeking an opposition overhaul, as the UN accused rebels of possible war crimes over a video showing soldiers being executed.The video very likely shows a war crime, the UN human rights body said, and the main opposition Syrian National Council called for those responsible for the executions to be called to account.Two days ahead of key talks among the opposition in Qatar, the SNC lashed out at accusations from Washington that it was not fully representative of the countrys diverse dissident forces.Any discussions aimed at passing over the Syrian National Council or at creating new bodies to replace it are an attempt to undermine the Syrian revolution by sowing the seeds of division, the SNC said.The United States denied that it was trying to control the make-up of Syrias next leadership, insisting it was simply seeking to ensure that more voices were heard.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week voiced frustration with the SNC, saying it was not representative of on-the-ground opposition forces and that it can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition.Reports have emerged that Washington will push in Qatar for an overhaul of the opposition, with long-time dissident Riad Seif touted as the potential head of a new government-in-exile dubbed the Syrian National Initiative.Washington has accused the SNC of failing to unite the resistance to President Bashar al-Assad beyond a small group of exiles, of not representing Syrias ethnic make-up and of alienating activists and rebel forces inside the country.But on Friday State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, This is not a matter of the US dictating.Nuland said the United States had backed the SNC for more than a year but now felt it needed to broaden its political base to connect the various political groups inside Syria fighting Assads regime.Washington, she said, wants to see a broader spectrum of communities in the opposition leadership including not only the Sunni population but the Alawis, the Druze, the Christians, the Kurds, any other minority groups, women.The Russian foreign ministry said Clintons comments on the SNC clashed with the agreements world powers reached on the conflict in Geneva in June, accusing Washington of trying to settle Syrias conflict exclusively on their terms.The rebels faced growing criticism on Friday after the video was posted on YouTube, appearing to show opposition fighters beating and executing soldiers after attacks on Thursday on checkpoints near the northwestern town of Saraqeb.The video -- the authenticity of which could not be verified -- showed about 10 soldiers being beaten, then lined up on the ground and executed with automatic rifles.
