FSA: protecting Syrians top priority

The opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) has said the “protection of peaceful protests” is its top priority, as it outlined its goals and structure in declaration released on Thursday. The rebel group, made up largely of dissidents from the regular army, also listed among its priorities “helping the Syrian people obtain their freedom” and referring to international courts those responsible for “war crimes against the Syrian people.” The statement bears the title “Founding Declaration” and also explains the structure of the rebel army fighting the government of president Bashar al-Assad. The rebel force consists of a temporary military council whose members are officers with the rank of major and above, and whose leader is elected by the council for a three-month period which can be renewed only once, it said. The FSA also pledged total commitment to international standards of human rights and said that its members and officers are banned from membership in any political or religious faction. It also promised it would not “intervene in the political process after the fall of the Assad regime.”