Almost two years into their ever bloodier uprising against President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, his exiled adversaries met in Istanbul on Monday and said that they had again postponed the formation of a transitional government, an apparent setback to their plans to fill the power vacuum created by months of civil war.
The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, the main exile opposition group, gathered on Saturday to try to mold a transitional government. While the organization has won broad recognition among its foreign backers as Syria’s sole legitimate representative, it has not yet solidified support among rebels fighting on the ground or begun planning for a post-Assad future.
The Western and Arab nations that pressured Mr. Assad’s adversaries into a reorganization last year had urged the coalition to select a prime minister, but no candidate has won a consensus.
A statement by the National Coalition on Monday said it had formed a five-member committee to draw up proposals for a transitional government within 10 days.
The panel is to “lead consultations” with rebel commanders, foreign backers and others seeking Mr. Assad’s ouster.
Coalition members met in Cairo last month and also failed to form a government, saying instead that they would create a committee to work on the idea.
In Syria, meanwhile, the government accused rebels of attacking an important power line, prompting a blackout that affected Damascus, the capital, areas to the north and a swath of territory reaching south to the Jordanian border.
SANA, the official news agency, quoted Electricity Minister Imad Khamis as saying the outage was “caused by a terrorist attack on a main electricity cable.”
Power returned early on Monday to some parts of the capital, The Associated Press reported. Like shortages of gasoline and cooking gas, The A.P. said, power outages serve as frequent reminders of the war that has engulfed much of the rest of the country, showing that while Mr. Assad’s forces still control the capital, they face growing challenges to provide basic services.
The latest blackout was the first to affect the entire city, residents were quoted as saying.
Syria Opposition Postpones Formation of Transitional Government
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Syria Opposition Postpones Formation of Transitional Government
