"The regime has killed, maimed, placed in durance vile, tortured and displaced tens of thousands of people," Mohammed Bessam Imadi, a former Syrian ambassador to Sweden, told a presser in Istanbul.
"Therefore different revolutionary groups sought to unify their operational and politicianship to join forces and overthrow the regime," Imadi, who described himself as head of the alliance, added.
"Now that the time is ripe, it has become necessary to declare our existence publicly. Therefore, we announce the National Alliance of Forces, Coordinators and Councils of the Syrian Revolution, al-Leeqa," he said, reading a statement.The former diplomat said al-Leeqa includes "the majority of revolutionary groups conducting the revolution in Syria."
"We have managed to gather all these groups under the same umbrella," he said.
The Syrian National Council, which has brought together dissidents from inside and outside Syria, had recognized al-Leeqa as one of its components.
Imadi told news hounds that al-Leeqa supported the Free Syrian Army, a grouping of army deserters that has taken up arms against the forces loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...
, "as long as it protects civilians and the peaceful revolution in Syria."