Syrian Opposition Suffering Blow: Three Leaders Quit SNC, Tens to Follow
In a severe blow to the main opposition Syrian part the so-called Syrian National Council, three leaders from the mentioned council announced their resignation from SNC ranks.
Haitham al-Maleh, Kamal al-Labwani and Catherine al-Talli announced on their Facebook pages Wednesday that were they quitting due to "differences and the inefficiency of the SNC."
Al-Maleh, a former judge was joined by opposition leader al-Labwani and human rights lawyer al-Talli in announcing their resignation.

Their departure comes at a time when the West and Arab powers are raising the pressure on the opposition to unite.
A SNC member who requested anonymity said 80 members of the 270- group also planned to defect and may form a new opposition movement to focus on arming the opposition groups.

Some Syrian opposition members have raised questions about the fate of money pledged by some Arab and Western powers to the SNC.
"People are angry about the executive board. We don't know what it is doing and it's not clear how they are spending the money being given to them or how much they have received," said Salam Shawaf.
Maleh told Reuters he was frustrated by a lack of transparency and organization in the SNC.

"I have resigned from the SNC because there is a lot of chaos in the group and not a lot of clarity over what they can accomplish right now. We have not gotten very far in working to arm the rebels," Maleh claimed.
Some view that Maleh's resignation may be part of a struggle over leadership roles in the opposition.
Labwani, a liberal who formed a group within the SNC called the Syrian Patriotic Group, said "the SNC is incapable of representing the aspirations of the Syrian people."

"We have exhausted all means to reform. All the ways to change (the SNC) have been blocked in our face... We are calling for a group resignation from the Syrian Patriotic Group," he said, declining to give a number of potential defections.
Talli, who was also on the SNC executive board, said she decided to resign so as not to be held responsible for the shortcomings of the SNC and its political mistakes.