Syrian opposition to form government in exile

Haytham al-Maleh, a Syrian opposition figure, claims he has been tasked with forming a government in exile based in Cairo.

Two Syrian rebel fighters load an anti-aircraft machinegun in the northern town of Atareb 

"I have been tasked with leading a transitional government," Mr Maleh said, adding that he will begin consultations "with the opposition inside and outside" the country.

Mr Maleh, a conservative Muslim, said he was named by a Syrian coalition of "independents with no political affiliation".

More than 20,000 people have been killed in Syria since a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's rule began in March 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. There is no way to independently verify the figure, while the UN has stopped keeping count.

There have been repeated calls on Mr Assad to step down.

When that happens, "we don't want to find ourselves in a political or administrative vacuum," Maleh said.

"This phase calls for co-operation from all sides," he said.
Mr Maleh, 81, is a Syrian lawyer and human rights activist who has spent several years in prison in his homeland.
His announcement comes as humanitarian conditions grow worse in the besieged city of Aleppo with activists reporting dwindling stocks of food and cooking gas and intermittent electricity supplies.
Government helicopters pounded rebel neighbourhoods across Syria's largest city and main commercial hub. Activists said the random shelling has forced many civilians to flee to other neighbourhoods or even escape the city altogether. The U.N. said late Sunday that about 200,000 had fled the city of about 3 million.
"The humanitarian situation here is very bad," Mohammed Saeed, an activist living in the city, told The Associated Press by Skype. "There is not enough food and people are trying to leave. We really need support from the outside. There is random shelling against civilians," he added. "The city has pretty much run out of cooking gas, so people are cooking on open flames or with electricity, which cuts out a lot."
He said shells were falling on the southwestern neighbourhoods of Salaheddine and Seif al-Dawla, rebel strongholds since the rebel Free Syrian Army began its assault on Aleppo 11 days ago.
The United Nations has expressed concern over the use of heavy weapons, especially in Aleppo, while the Syria's neighbours in the Arab League have issued even stronger denunciations.