Syria’s main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council (SNC) is hosting an opposition meeting in Istanbul in an effort to unite the seriously divided Syrian opposition . . . the SNC invited all groups, but the National Coordination Committee already declined to attend . . . the goal of the meeting is to join the opposition groups to create a pact of common objectives . . . international supporters hope the opposition can reach a consensus before the next Friends of Syria meeting on 1 April . . . lack of unity by the opposition has hampered the effort to oust President Assad and gain concrete Western backing, potentially including arms, for the opposition . . . despite efforts by the SNC, initial response suggests opposition unity remains distant.