Regional unit commanders of the main Western-backed Syrian rebel faction rejected the dismissal this week of their chief by the group's foreign-based command council and pledged to keep fighting under his command.
Their repudiation of the decision was a further sign of deepening disarray within Syria's fragmented opposition movement that has weakened the nearly three-year uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.
The Supreme Military Council of the rebel Free Syrian Army dismissed Selim Idriss on Sunday after a tenure that saw numerous setbacks in the anti-Assad insurgency as well as what opposition sources said were rising tensions between him and the National Coalition's Saudi-backed chief.
A statement by 22 members of the FSA's 30-strong military council said the decision was prompted by incompetence in the rebel command and a need to improve battlefield leadership.
But Idriss was defiant, saying in a video where he was flanked by regional commanders that they would cut ties with the defence minister in the National Coalition-appointed "temporary government".
In his video statement released on Wednesday, Idriss called for a reformation of the council to make use of a broader spectrum of rebel groups and urged "revolutionary and military forces on the ground" to present a united front against Assad.
In an online video posted late on Tuesday, unit commanders representing relatively secular rebels in Syria's five main battle zones denounced the decision to fire Idriss and accused National Coalition leaders of exacerbating rebel divisions.
"(We) consider the dismissal of the head of the General Staff, General Selim Idriss, null and illegitimate," Fateh Hassoun, FSA commander for central Syria, said in the video. He added Idriss's backers would keep fighting under his command.
"No group that is not present on the country's soil has the right to take a crucial decision that does not represent the views of the forces working on the ground," he said, reading from a statement.
HRW:
The Syrian military has begun targeting opposition areas with a new type of cluster munitions rockets which is larger and more powerful than others in its arsenal, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday.
The New York-based group published photographs and witness testimony on its website which it said indicate that the army attacked the western town of Kafar Zeita on Feb. 12 and 13 with at least four 300 mm rockets loaded with sub-munitions.
The attack occurred while a Syrian government delegation was in Geneva for peace talks with the opposition. The talks ended on Saturday without any progress.
Cluster bombs randomly scatter small munitions over a vast area. Many bomblets explode on impact, but some do not, becoming landmines that can endanger residents for years.
HRW said each of the rockets used this month contained up to 72 anti-personnel bomblets which are heavier and deadlier than types previously used in Syria's nearly three-year-old conflict.
"It is appalling that Syrian government forces are still using banned cluster munitions on their people," said Steve Goose, arms division director at HRW. "Cluster bombs are killing Syrian civilians now and threatening Syrians for generations to come."
HRW said two civilians were killed and at least 10 wounded in the attacks this month. It could not confirm their source but said it was "highly unlikely" they came from the rebel side.
It cited a local activist from Kafar Zeita, 30 km (20 miles) north of the city of Hama, who said the rockets were launched from Hama airport, which the Syrian government controls. He said there were no Free Syrian Army targets in the affected areas.
UN aid resolution:
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday the UN resolution on humanitarian aid access in
Syria could be agreed in "the coming days" if Security Council members do not seek to "politicise" the issue, Interfax reported.
Moscow initially opposed a Western-Arab draft resolution on aid to Syria but then proposed its own text, saying it was ready for negotiations.
On Tuesday, the 15-member council met informally to continue negotiations on a draft resolution to boost humanitarian access in Syria, where the United Nations says some 9.3 million people need help.
In this regard, Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations Prince Zeid Al-Hussein said negotiations are ongoing, expressing his hope that members of the Security Council vote on the resolution before the end of the week.
In turn, French Representative Gerard Araud said an agreement on the resolution may be reached; however, the text of the resolution should be fundamental in order to have a real impact on the ground.
According to diplomats, imposing sanctions on sides obstructing the access of humanitarian aid is hindering the ratification of the resolution.