The Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) has sacked its leader after he fell out with the Saudi-supported head of the moderate opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, opposition sources said Monday.

General Selim Idriss, whose relations with Saudi Arabia deteriorated after he opened channels with Qatar, was replaced by Brigadier General Abdelilah al-Bashir, head of FSA operations in Qunaitera province bordering Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the sources said.

Bashir assumes leadership of a force trying to regain the initiative from rival and better organized Islamist groups that have overshadowed it in fighting against Assad.

A statement signed by 22 of the FSA's 30-member Supreme Military Council said the decision was prompted by "the ineffectiveness of the command in the past few months ... and to provide leadership for military operations against the criminal regime and its allies from terrorist organizations."

A statement issued by the opposition National Coalition, which includes 15 members of the FSA, said news of Bashir's appointment came as a "relief."

Ahmad Jarba, a tribal figure close to Saudi Arabia, became president of the coalition last July after an expansion last year that diluted the influence of Qatari-backed members.

"Idriss appears to have gotten too close to the Qataris, prompting Jarba to move against him," one of the opposition sources said.

Rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, main backers of Assad's civilian and military opponents, has deepened divisions in the opposition. It has also strengthened Assad as his government talks with the opposition National Coalition at US- and Russian-sponsored negotiations in Geneva.

The coalition's delegation added several FSA commanders to its negotiating team in the second round of peace talks.

Reuters