Syria opposition struggles to forge transition plan before talks

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Syria’s divided opposition leaders have failed to back a plan by their outgoing leader for President Bashar al-Assad to cede power gradually to end the country’s civil war, highlighting the obstacles to international peace talks expected next month. The 16-point plan proposed by Moaz Alkhatib, who resigned as head of the Western-backed opposition National Coalition in March, urges Assad to hand power to his deputy or prime minister and then go abroad with 500 members of his entourage. …