ZAGREB (Reuters) - The United States called on Wednesday for a major overhaul of Syria's beleaguered opposition, saying it was time to move beyond the Syrian National Council (SNC) and bring in those who are "in the frontlines fighting and dying today".
Speaking on a visit to Croatia, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also said Syrian opposition talks in Qatar next week should lead to a broader coalition that would speak out strongly against "efforts by extremists to hijack the Syrian revolution."
Western patience has been wearing thin with the SNC, a group of largely expatriate Syrian activists who so far have failed to gain much traction with groups inside the country.
"We've made it clear that the SNC can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition," Clinton said. "They can be part of a larger opposition, but that opposition must include people from inside Syria and others."
"There needs to be an opposition structure that is dedicated to representing and protecting all Syrians," Clinton said.
The 19-month-old revolt against Assad claimed at least six more lives on Wednesday when a bomb exploded near a Shi'ite shrine in a suburb of the Syrian capital, Damascus, state media and opposition activists said.
It followed the collapse of the latest ceasefire proposal, brokered by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in an effort to stop the fighting over the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.
The conflict has cost an estimated 32,000 dead.
A meeting next week in Qatar would be an opportunity for Syria's disparate opposition groups to bring in representatives of those who "are on the frontlines fighting and dying today", Clinton said.
She added that the United States had facilitated the movement of several representatives of these groups to a meeting last month on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
"And we also need an opposition that will be on record strongly resisting the efforts by extremists to hijack the Syrian revolution."
"We have recommended names and organisations that we believe should be included in a leadership structure," Clinton told a news conference.
(Reporting By Andrew Quinn, Editing by William Maclean)
