Syria’s 2 Main Opposition Groups Agree on ‘Roadmap’

Syria’s two main political opposition groups agreed on Thursday on a unified “roadmap” for a political solution to the country’s long-running civil war, representatives of the groups said.

FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014 file photo, Hadi Bahra, a senior member of the Syrian National Coalition, the country's main political opposition group in exile, speaks during a press conference following his meeting with the Arab League's Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby at the league's headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File

BEIRUT — Syria’s two main political opposition groups agreed on Thursday on a unified “roadmap” for a political solution to the country’s long-running civil war, representatives of the groups said.

The two parties have been trying for years to reach a common understanding on how to end the war in Syria. Their agreement came as the U.N. envoy, Staffan de Mistura, was in Damascus to press efforts to find a political solution to the country’s war.

But violence continued on the ground and suspected Islamic State militants fired at a Turkish military outpost from inside Syrian territory on Thursday, killing a Turkish soldier and wounding two others. Turkish troops retaliated to the attack and at least one IS militant was killed, according to Turkish official Suleyman Tapsiz, the governor for the Kilis province.

Today we are breaking the parable of lack of unity within the opposition.

— Khalaf Dawohd