Syrian rebel leader a Kurd

BEIRUT, LEBANON - Syria's main opposition group on Sunday picked a secular Kurd as its new leader after criticism that the former head was too autocratic and the group was becoming dominated by Islamists.

The opposition, hobbled by disorganization and infighting, is trying to pull together and appear more inclusive by choosing a member of an ethnic minority.

The opposition's disarray has frustrated Western powers eager to dislodge Syrian President Bashar Assad but unwilling or unable to send in their own forces to do it.

There has been some willingness to support the rebels with funds and arms, but the lack of a cohesive front or a single address has hampered the efforts as the bloodshed intensifies.

On Sunday, government forces shelled rebel-held cities and villages, killing at least 38 people in the rebellious Homs district in central Syria, activists said. It was impossible to independently confirm the death toll.

The choice of Abdulbaset Sieda as head of the Syrian National Council is aimed at achieving several goals for the main opposition group.

• Under outgoing leader Burhan Ghalioun, criticism mounted that the group was dominated by Islamists, especially the Muslim Brotherhood. Sieda is a secular.

• Selection of a member of a minority group could counter criticism that under Ghalioun, the umbrella organization was too autocratic. Sieda is seen as a neutral consensus figure.

"This is clearly an opportunity, and there is clearly a need for a change," said Peter Harling of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group think tank.

But key problems remain.

The Syrian National Council has only tenuous ties to the Free Syrian Army, which is doing most of the actual fighting against Assad's forces, and is itself little more than a disorganized collection of local militias.

Sieda, 56, an expert on ancient civilizations, is a longtime exile who lives in Sweden. His predecessor is based in Paris. Activists actually fighting in Syria worry that if they succeed in deposing Assad, the exiles will swoop in and take over.

Sieda was elected unanimously for a three-month term as president at a council meeting in Istanbul that stretched into the early hours Sunday.

Ghalioun presided over the council since its formation last August, but some Syrian dissidents pulled out after he repeatedly renewed his three-month term as leader. They accused him of being a liberal face for the Muslim Brotherhood, whom dissidents view as the real force behind the opposition council in exile.

Sieda said his priority would be to expand and restructure the council to include more opposition figures, particularly from Syria's religious minorities.

"We are now in the process of repairing the relationship between the SNC and the forces working inside Syria so that we may reach common ground among us," Sieda said.