ISTANBUL
The Syrian National Coalition, or the SNC, will join the international coalition to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or the ISIL, in Syria only if the Free Syrian Army is armed, the head of the coalition said Friday.
In a speech at the coalition's general assembly meeting late Friday in Istanbul, Hadi al-Bahra called on all international powers to provide arms and support to the Free Syrian Army.
The campaign against the ISIL militant targets in Iraq was launched on August 9 with support from France, the U.K., Belgium, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
"The US-led coalition should not only fight against terrorist groups in Syria, but also remove the Syrian regime which terrorizes its own people and supports terrorist groups," said Bahra.
The opponent group also asked for aerial support from the international coalition in its battle against the Syrian government forces.
More than 191,000 people are believed to have been killed and millions others displaced in the country's deadly civil war since March 2011, according to a recent UN report.
Bahra also stressed on the important of an inclusive political solution that could fulfill the aspirations of the Syrian people.
The Syrian National Coalition is a group of opposition forces that mainly fights the Syrian President Bashar al Assad regime forces. It was founded in Doha, Qatar, in November 2012.
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