Syria arrests opposition figures on way to Riyadh meeting

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Syrian authorities on Wednesday arrested two prominent members of the country’s domestic opposition as they travelled to Riyadh to meet other regime opponents, a colleague told AFP.

Ahmad al-Asrawi and Munir al-Bitar, two members of the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, were stopped at Syria’s border with Lebanon, said the body’s secretary general, Yahya Aziz.

The “supreme committee” is a 33-member group formed earlier this month at a landmark meeting of Syria’s armed and political opposition in Riyadh.

The committee is set to choose at least part of an opposition delegation for peace talks with the government next month.

“Syrian authorities today arrested our two colleagues Ahmad al-Asrawi and Munir al-Bitar at the Syrian-Lebanese border point as they were heading to the supreme committee meeting in Riyadh,” Aziz said.