The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, commonly named the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), or the Syrian National Revolutionary Coalition (SNRC) was a pro-democracy political organization founded in Doha, Qatar, in November 2012 during the Syrian civil war in an attempt to coalesce the various opposition movements to Bashar al-Assad's Ba'athist regime.
The coalition was recognized by several United Nations member states, by the European Union and by the Arab League as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. It included for a time the Syrian National Council, another coalition group which had been previously received diplomatic recognition.
The SNC was based outside Syria until late 2024. Though it established contact with the Free Syrian Army and tried for a time to support it through the FSA’s Supreme Military Council, the SNC initially suffered from a lack of presence on the ground, from internal infighting and from rivalry between foreign powers for influence over it. Originally divided between factions aligned with either Qatar or Saudi Arabia, the SNC came to operate mostly under Turkish influence.
On 18 March 2013, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces established the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) which later exercised authority in Turkish-occupied zones of Syria.
The SNC attempted to negotiate with the regime as part of the Syrian peace process. In 2014, the Syrian National Council, which had been the biggest block in the coalition so far, left it in protest at the decision of the coalition to attend the Geneva II Conference on Syria. The Coalition later took part to the Syrian Negotiation Commission and had representatives in the Syrian Constitutional Committee. However, as the civil war was in deadlock and the peace negotiations failed to produce results, the SNC lost clout and came to be considered mostly as Turkey's relay of influence. It lost support from the United States in 2019, and the Arab League withdrew its recognition in 2023. The Syrian National Coalition did not include Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham which eventually played a leading role in toppling Assad's government in 2024.
In late 2024, after the fall of the Assad regime, the SNC relocated from Istanbul to Damascus. In February 2025, the SNC declared its allegiance to the new authorities under Ahmed al-Sharaa and announced that it would dissolve and merge into the Syrian administration.
Formation The National Coalition was formed as an effort to provide a leadership for the various grassroots movements that had started in 2011 the uprising against the Assad regime. The Syrian National Council had so far failed to provide such a leadership and lacked a connection with the activists within Syria, and resisted Turkey and France's pressure to establish a transitional government for Syria. The countries that supported the Syrian opposition, Qatar and the United States in particular, pushed for a new structure that would provide a greater representation to the opposition forces from the liberated areas of Syria.
Riad Seif, a member of the Syrian National Council's executive committee and former Damascus Spring figure, started in August 2012 to discuss his plans for a new structure - then called the "Syrian National Initiative" - with close associates and American officials. On 31 October, United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton publicly stated that the Syrian National Council could "no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition." This caused new dissent within the Syrian National Council, as spokespeople for that organization decried what they called "direct tutelage" by the United States. Seif presented his proposal to the Syrian National Council in September, but his colleagues were deeply divided and delayed making a decision. Eventually, a proposal was published on 1 November which would lead to the formation of the National Coalition ten days later.
Structure and aims At its creation in November 2012 the National Coalition elected former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Moaz al-Khatib, considered a moderate as its president, Riad Seif and Suheir Atassi, both prominent democracy activists and the latter a secular human rights advocate, as vice-presidents and Mustafa Sabbagh as secretary-general. The post of a third vice president remained vacant for a Kurdish figure to be elected. The coalition initially had a council of about 63 members, including 22 members from the Syrian National Council. Original members included Riad Seif for the Forum for National Dialogue, Suheir Atassi for the Syrian Revolution General Commission, political figures such as Mouaffaq Nyrabia, Haitham al-Maleh, Ali Sadreddine Al-Bayanouni, Monzer Makhous and Kamal al-Labwani, as well as members of various local councils, of the Local Coordination Committees, of the Kurdish National Council, of other movements like the Syrian Human Rights Committee, the Revolutionary Council of Syrian Clans, the Syrian National Democratic bloc, the Syrian Scholars Association and the Unions of Syrian Authors, as well as Turkmen representatives. Members of the Syrian National Council included George Sabra, Burhan Ghalioun, Abdulbaset Sieda, Louay M. Safi and Randa Kassis (later chairwoman of the Russian-supported peace talks platform in Astana). In 2014, the Coalition was expanded to include the Syrian Turkmen Assembly and several other entities. The Syrian National Council and its backbone faction, the Muslim Brotherhood, initially played a leading role in the affairs of the National Coalition. When the coalition's general assembly met in Cairo on 29 November to activate its operational structures and approve its statutes, National Council members and associates accounted for 60 percent of those present.
In 2012, the National Coalition stated that its aims were replacing the Bashar al-Assad government and "its symbols and pillars of support", "dismantling the security services", unifying and supporting the Free Syrian Army, refusing dialogue and negotiation with the al-Assad government, and "holding accountable those responsible for killing Syrians, destroying [Syria], and displacing [Syrians]".
On 24 March 2013 Moaz al-Khatib made a surprise announcement that he was stepping down as president of the coalition. Although he gave no reason at the time, he later talked of interference by international and regional actors; the interviewer named these as Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The coalition refused al-Khatib's resignation. Khatib was still considered the "primary voice" of the Syrian opposition, and the following day the Arab League granted Khatib the position to head the coalition's delegation to the Arab League. He continued in office for almost another month before confirming his resignation on 21 April 2013.
At a conference held in Istanbul on 19 March 2013, members of the National Coalition elected Ghassan Hitto as prime minister of an interim government for Syria. Hitto has announced that a technical government would be formed which will be led by between 10 and 12 ministers. The minister of defence would be chosen by the Free Syrian Army.
On 31 May 2013, the coalition gave membership to 15 representatives of the Free Syrian Army, allowing for the first Time direct representation of rebels operating in Syria. On 6 July, the coalition elected a new leadership. Ahmad Asi Al-Jarba was elected president and Anas Al-Abdah was elected as secretary general. On 14 September 2013, the National Coalition selected Ahmad Tu'mah as prime minister of an interim government for Syria. On 25 September 2013, some Islamist factions rejected the Syrian National Coalition stating that "All groups formed abroad without having returned to the country do not represent us."
The Syrian National Council withdrew from the coalition on 20 January 2014 in protest at the decision of the coalition to attend the Geneva talks. The Coalition effectively replaced the Syrian National Council as the main representative body of the Syrian opposition.
The Syrian Interim Government (SIG) functioned first as a government-in-exile. From 2015, it began to exercise some authority in rebel-held zones of Syria. Later on, it expanded its control in Turkish-occupied zones of Syria. Several Turkish-supported rebel groups unified under the name Syrian National Army (SNA) to function as the SIG's armed forces.
Riad Seif, one of the major figures of the Damascus Spring, became president of the SNC in 2017. He resigned 10 months later, due to health issues and conflicts with his Turkish-backed vice-president Abdurrahman Mustafa, president of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly. Mustafa became president to finish Seif's term until the next election, and was later reelected. According to a Syria Direct investigation, Mustafa helped strengthen Turkey's influence over the SNC. In 2019, he left the presidency of the SNC to become president of the Syrian Interim Government. Mustafa redefined the SIG's relationship with the Coalition by rejecting the SIG's subordination to the SNC: he also refused to relinquish his membership in the SNC after becoming president of the SIG as his predecessor had done. Mustafa deepened the SIG's relationship with Turkish services and governors and replaced the SIG's representatives in the SNC. While the SNC remained officially a higher authority than the Syrian Interim Government, it was the Turkish-backed SIG that came to wield power over it.
In September 2023, Hadi al-Bahra, who had already led the Coalition between 2014 and 2015 and been a chief negotiator during the peace talks, was elected again as president of the SNC. Syria Direct reported that al-Bahra's return as president had been imposed by members of the SNC close to the Turkish government, notably Abdurrahman Mustafa. At that point, the Syrian National Coalition had lost much credibility at an international level, as it had become largely seen as a platform for Turkish interests. Notably, the United States cut off in 2019 all financial and diplomatic aid and political cover from the SNC after Turkey launched its offensive into north-eastern Syria.
Domestic recognition The Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCCSyria) stated that they "[reaffirm their] participation in the National Coalition. The [LCCSyria have] worked hard, and will continue to spare no effort, to ensure the success of the National Coalition in its service to the revolution." The National Coalition was supported by the Free Syrian Army from October 2013 or earlier.'Islamist rebels in Syria reject National Coalition' . BBC, 25 September 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
On 16 November 2012, there were 497 street demonstrations in Syria according to the LCCSyria, including 121 demonstrations in Hama that "expressed support for the National Coalition" and 104 demonstrations in Idlib who called for the National Coalition to "support the revolutionaries".
Following the election of the Coalition's president, several pro-Islamist media outlets have signalled their approvals for the formation of the new revolution bloc under the leadership of Sheikh Moaz Al-Khatib. Answering questions on his students' portal EsinIslam of The Awqaf London the London-based Damascene graduate African Muslim cleric, Sheikh Dr. Abu-Abdullah Abdul-Fattah Adelabu called upon the Islamists and their affiliates to support the coalition's leadership.