Syrian Opposition Rejects UN Transition Deal

Syrian opposition groups have rejected a United Nations-backed plan for a political transition in Syria, calling it “ambiguous” and “a farce” while ruling out any possibility of sharing power with President Bashar al-Assad.

A Paris-based Syrian National Cuncil spokeswoman, Bassma Kodmani, said Sunday that Syrians “will not accept engaging in any political track while the killing continues.” Dozens of civilians were reportedly killed the day before, including at least 30 when a powerful explosion hit a funeral procession in a suburb of the capital, Damascus. Activists blamed government forces for the blast. An international conference in Geneva on Saturday accepted a watered down version of U.N. envoy Kofi Annan’s plan for the creation of a transitional government in Syria. But at Russia’s insistence the compromise agreement left the door open to Assad being part of the interim administration.