Syria opposition leader to meet France's Hollande

Rebel fighters fire at government forces in northern Syrian city of Aleppo Syria's opposition leader is scheduled to meet French President Francois Hollande Wednesday, a day after asking France for military aid to boost the forces fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. "This is one of the goals of our visit among other issues," new opposition chief Ahmad Jarba told reporters after meeting members of the French parliament's foreign affairs committee on Tuesday at the start of a two-day trip.
"Obviously we will ask France for total political support, diplomatic support, humanitarian emergency aid, and military and other aid," said Jarba.
Free Syrian Army chief General Selim Idriss added that the opposition was "working with our European and American friends to obtain technical, medical and humanitarian assistance and, we hope, also weapons and ammunition" as the rebels did "not have enough" weapons.
It is Jarba's first visit to France since he was elected head of the main opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) on July 6.
He said Hollande's invitation was proof of France's interest in Syria's fate.
After France, Jarba will head to New York for meetings at the United Nations.
Britain said the 15-nation UN Security Council, including Russia and China, would hold its first meeting with the SNC leadership on Friday.
French officials said talks with the opposition were also being planned in London and Berlin.
The United Nations has been told of 13 alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria, a top UN official said ahead of talks between UN experts and the Syrian government.
The two experts arrived in Beirut on Tuesday and were expected to travel to Damascus Wednesday.
However the UN's hopes of investigating chemical weapon attacks in Syria suffered a blow when rebels seized a key town, diplomats in New York said.
Opposition fighters took Khan al-Assal from Assad's forces two days ahead of the arrival in Damascus of Ake Sellstrom, head of the UN inquiry into the use of chemical arms in the 28-month-old conflict, and UN disarmament affairs chief Angela Kane.
Khan al-Assal was the scene of a deadly March 19 attack that the government blamed on the opposition when it called for a UN investigation.
But Britain, France and the United States have since presented evidence of other suspected chemical attacks which they blame on Assad forces. And the government has refused to let UN inspectors in unless they stick to the Khan al-Assal.
Meanwhile, fresh from visiting a huge refugee camp, US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday met with UN and aid organisation leaders to discuss ways to help millions caught in Syria's crossfire.
With no end in sight to the conflict now in its 28th month, the grim toll keeps rising - some 100,000 people have been killed and 1.8 million Syrians have fled to neighbouring countries.
Up to four million people are also believed to have been displaced by the fighting inside Syria's borders, where local aid workers risk their lives daily to cross shifting frontlines to supply vital food and water.
Last week, Kerry flew over the sprawling Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan - home to some 115,000 refugees, mostly women and children - and was briefed on the daily struggle for families, many of whom have witnessed horrific brutality.
"We are having a very difficult time being able to access people, move people, protect people," Kerry said at the start of the high-level talks in the State Department.
UN and NGO leaders say the Syrian conflict is the worst they have seen since the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.
Fears are growing that the conflict is spilling over the country's borders, destabilizing already vulnerable neighbours such as Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
"We intend to have a very solid, in-depth discussion today about creative ways that we can meet our obligations to human beings who are in huge danger," Kerry added.
He was meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres as well as the heads of the World Food Programme, UNICEF and the International Red Cross.
His visit to Zaatari had been "unbelievably moving," Kerry said. "They need the help of the world and it is my privilege to meet today with the people providing that help."
The United States is the largest single donor to UN-run relief programmes for the Syrian refugees, having already pledged some $815 million.
Source: AFP