Syrian activists held a meeting in Switzerland over the weekend to decry what they view as the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s attempts to “monopolize” power following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The development could signal the emergence of a new political force in opposition to the transitional government led by the Islamist group.

What happened: The self-described “Syrian national meeting” was held in Geneva on Feb. 15 and 16. It was organized by Haytham Manna, a Paris-based Syrian activist. Manna said in a Facebook post on Monday that 400 people participated in the meeting both in person and virtually.

Arabic media outlets reported that the Syrian Democratic Council, which is the political arm of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria, participated, though the council did not comment on the event. 

Some Syrian political groups, such as the communist People’s Will Party, together posted a response to the invitation to the meeting that stated Syrians are “tired” of political conferences being held outside the country and called for the event to be held in Damascus. The party expressed support for "keeping the ‘electronic/virtual’ door open for those who desire to participate from outside the country" in a Feb. 12 statement.