Representatives of more than 100 countries and organizations were converging here on Wednesday to discuss Syria's 21-month conflict and ways to support the opposition, according to a report of DPA. The Friends of Syria conference is being held a day after the United States formally recognized the main Syrian opposition alliance, which is hoping to seek broader recognition in Morocco. Britain, France, Turkey and Gulf countries have already recognized the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, launched last month to present a united front against Bashar Al-Assad and led by Moaez Al-Khatib. "Topping the agenda of the Marrakesh conference is the humanitarian situation in Syria, as the numbers of Syrian refugees are soaring," George Sabra, the head of opposition Syrian National Council, told dpa. The foreign ministers of France, Britain and Canada are attending the meeting. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton cancelled her visit due to health reasons. In Syria, battles were Wednesday raging between government troops and opposing fighters on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group. --MORE
