Their own men

SYRIA’S exiled opposition has long struggled to influence the course of the civil war. Its ambitions may just have been dashed for good by those who do the actual fighting. On September 24th eleven of Syria’s strongest rebel brigades jointly announced their rejection of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), the quarrelsome but broadly moderate Istanbul-based dissident leadership that is recognised by Western and Gulf governments. Syrians outside the country and those picked by foreigners have no authority, said a rebel spokesman. Moreover, he declared, Syria’s revolution must be pursued “within a clear Islamic framework”, based on sharia law as the sole source of legislation.