Syrian rebels claim to have seized a key crossing point along the Syria-Turkey border, which could create access point for weapons and fighters to enter the country and an exit point for refugees. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Cairo.
By NBC News wire services
DOHA -- Syria's fractious opposition, under pressure from the United States and Qatar to unite, may agree Friday to form an inclusive new opposition body that would serve as a unity government if Bashar Assad falls.
Qatar, which has bankrolled the opposition to Assad and played a leading role in Arab diplomacy against him, is hosting an opposition meeting, with senior U.S. diplomats hovering on the sidelines, prodding the opposition to make a deal.
Rebel advances on the ground and increasing economic and social disintegration within Syria have added to the pressure on the opposition to form a body that can rule after Assad.
Fresh clashes
Activists said Friday that Syrian rebels had killed more than 20 soldiers and captured three of the most powerful security compounds in the country: the military, air force and general intelligence directorate. All are located in a northern town near the Turkey border.
The capture of the compounds and the deaths on Friday came during intense clashes in the town of Ras al-Ayn, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
At least 38,000 people have been killed since the revolt against Assad erupted nearly 20 months ago, according to Observatory data.
Refugee exodus
Meanwhile, the United Nations refugee agency said Friday that about 11,000 Syrian refugees have fled to three neighboring countries in the past 24 hours, the largest exodus in "quite some time."
The latest exodus into Turkey (9,000), Lebanon (1,000) and Jordan (1,000) brings the total number of Syrian refugees registered or being assisted in the region to 408,000, Panos Moumtzis of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said.
The Turkish state-run Anatolian news agency reported Friday that 26 Syrian military officers had also arrived in Turkey with their families overnight, in the biggest mass desertion of senior soldiers from Assad's forces in months.
Efforts to end the bloodshed have been dogged by regional and international rifts, as well as by divisions between civilian and armed opposition factions inside and outside Syria.
Analysis: US loses patience with Syria opposition group ‘Sole legitimate representative’
A source inside Doha meetings that lasted into the early hours of Friday morning told Reuters that members of the Syrian National Council (SNC), a group made up mainly of exiled politicians, had shifted views and were coming to accept the need to form a wider body.
A look back at the violence that has overtaken the country
"We will not leave today without an agreement," the source told Reuters. "The body will be the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. Once they get international recognition, there will be a fund for military support."
The new body would mirror the Transitional National Council that united the opposition to Moammar Gadhafi in Libya last year and then took power after he was ousted, the source suggested.
"They will create a 'temporary government', which could take control of embassies around the world and take Syria's seat at the U.N., because the regime would have lost its legitimacy," the source said.
Damascus bomb kills at least 15, groups say
An outline agreement could mean the SNC and other opposition figures agree on a 60-member political assembly, or congress, as well as a military and a judicial council.
Machine guns operated by motorcycle brakes? Get a glimpse at the rebels fighting against Assad's forces in Syria's mountainous Jabal al-Zawiya area.
The SNC, which has previously been the main opposition group on the international stage, may have about one-third of the seats in the new body, but would otherwise lose much of its influence.
Though it was not yet clear whether the groups meeting in Doha will name members to the new body or broach the thorny issue of its leadership, its creation would mark an advance long sought by the United States and Qatar.
Foreign countries that oppose Assad are determined to push Syrian opposition figures to cooperate, which means bridging gaps between exiles and those working in Syria, and between liberals and increasingly powerful Islamist militants.
The West and its regional allies worry that if Assad were to fall before the opposition unites behind a credible body capable of leading the country, increasingly powerful Islamist militia would quickly take over Syria.
People resisting the army of President Bashar Assad in northern Syria cope with loss and prepare for fighting
New pressure after Obama’s re-election
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for overhauling the opposition amid eroding faith in the SNC, saying there needed to be representation of those "on the frontlines and dying." British Prime Minister David Cameron also signaled international pressure to unite the opposition.
UK PM: Safe exit for Syria's Assad 'could be arranged'
Pressure on the opposition to unite increased further this week after the re-election of President Barack Obama, which removed uncertainty about the U.S. position.
A diplomat familiar with the talks said that throughout the week the SNC had shifted towards taking international pressure more seriously, especially after Obama's victory.
Analysis: Election over, Obama inbox overflows with world crises
"The Americans felt a swagger after the results of the election and Obama's win. No one can dismiss them anymore, because they are staying," he told Reuters, adding that a State Department official sat in on Thursday meetings.
"But reaching a real deal over the initiative will also depend on who joins this assembly from the SNC, which will have no real influence after that," the diplomat said.
In an interview with a Russian television channel, Syrian President Bashir Assad vowed to live and die in Syria, even as a 19-month old uprising against him rages. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports
The SNC is due Friday to complete elections to its executive council and choose a new leader, before continuing talks with Seif, representatives of rebel groups and other political factions on forming the new assembly.
Complete World coverage on NBCNews.com
Assad told Russia Today television on Thursday he would "live and die in Syria," comments that echoed the words of other Arab leaders before they lost power in 2011.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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