奥朗德的声明清楚表明，西方现在将希望放在叙利亚反对派身上，希望他们能作为统一并有效的组织代替总统阿萨德。奥朗德说最重要的是，一旦反对派成立合适的流亡政府，就会考虑对其提供武装的问题。新的反对派领导人称这是当务之急。美国和英国都谈到联盟的合法性问题，但并未完全认可，两国都希望该联盟能先证明其合法性。

The main Syrian aid agency says that at least two and a half million people are now displaced within Syria. The figure from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent more than doubles previous estimates. The United Nations refugee agency says the figure has shown the people are on the run and in hiding.

叙利亚最重要的援助机构称目前叙利亚境内已有至少250万人流离失所，来自叙利亚阿拉伯红新月组织的数字比之前预测的两倍还要多。联合国难民机构称这个数字表明人们在到处寻找避难地。

President Obama has suspended the nomination of the top American military officer in Afghanistan, General John Allen for the post of Nato's supreme commander. The US Defence Department is investigating allegations that General Allen exchanged communications described by one official as flirtatious with a woman at the center of a scandal surrounding the resignation last week of the CIA director, David Petraeus. Jonny Dymond in Washington has more.