Kerry, Karzai make show of unity after weeks of tensions

By Arshad Mohammed

KABUL (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a show of unity on Monday after weeks of heightened tensions over prisoner transfers and Afghan suggestions of U.S.-Taliban collusion.

Kerry made a brief, unannounced visit to Afghanistan to discuss a host of issues including attempts to stabilize the country before most foreign troops leave by the end of 2014, the transfer of security responsibility to Afghan forces and Afghanistan's 2014 elections, a U.S. official told reporters.

After a private meeting that lasted several hours, the two held a news conference where Karzai confronted questions about his remarks earlier this month in which he accused the Taliban of undertaking attacks "in service of America".

Numerous press reports stated he was suggesting the U.S. and the Taliban were colluding, but he rejected that interpretation at the news conference held in the presidential palace in Kabul.

"I never used the word 'collusion' between the Taliban and the U.S. Those were not my words. Those were the (words) picked up by the media," he said.

Kerry said the two men had discussed the matter but he played it down. "I am confident that the president absolutely does not believe that the United States has any interest except to see the Taliban come to the table to make peace."

AFGHAN CONTROL

Making his first visit to Afghanistan as secretary of state, Kerry also acknowledged America's hand-over earlier in the day of control of Afghanistan's largest detention facility, adjacent to the Bagram military base north of Kabul.

Control of the detention facility and the prisoners inside was formally ceded to the Afghans during a ceremony on Monday morning, ending a longstanding U.S.-Afghan bone of contention.

Transfer of control of the prison had been repeatedly delayed over the past year, in part due to U.S. concerns that inmates dangerous to coalition forces might be released.

"As of today, we don't have prisoners. Whatever is occurring here is under the control of the Afghan people," Kerry said. An aide said he was referring only to Afghan citizens.

Earlier in the day the Afghan commander of the Bagram detention facility, Gulam Farooq Barakzai, said a very limited number of detainees remained in U.S. custody and were expected to be handed over to the Afghans by the "end of next week".

Asked for details on how the prisoner transfer agreement would work, Karzai said the United States had agreed to share intelligence about what it viewed as highly dangerous prisoners and would be consulted before any eventual release.

Karzai said an Afghan board would review intelligence and decide whether detainees should be released, before a final exchange of views between the U.S. military commander and the Afghan defense minister.

U.S. WELCOMES KARZAI TRIP TO QATAR

The Afghan president is due to travel to Qatar within days to discuss the peace process and the opening of a Taliban office for conducting negotiations. The trip comes after years of stalled talks with the United States, Pakistan and the Taliban.

U.S. officials called his trip a step in the right direction

"Nobody is expecting that he will open an office there in a week. Nobody is expecting that he will be sitting down with Taliban in a week. This is a long process and this is one more small but positive step in that ... process," said one official.

Kerry repeated the U.S. call for the Taliban to enter into talks and a wider political process and issued a veiled threat if they did not, saying U.S. President Barack Obama had yet to say how many U.S. troops will remain in the country after 2014.

Karzai stressed the need to bring neighboring Pakistan into such a negotiation. U.S. and Afghan officials have long said the Taliban forces enjoy sanctuary across the border in Pakistan.

"Without the participation of Pakistan, any peace process will not see a fruitful end," he said.

U.S. officials said Kerry had wanted to visit Pakistan on this trip but had decided not to given the May 11 election, in part to avoid any appearance of seeking to influence what would be Pakistan's first civilian-to-civilian electoral handover.

"We wanted to be, you know, holier than the Pope on this one, on staying away while the electoral process unfolded," said the U.S. official.

(Additional reporting by David Alexander and Dylan Welch; Editing by Nick Macfie and Stephen Powell)

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Congolese warlord to make first appearance before Hague court

By Thomas Escritt

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda makes his first public appearance before the International Criminal Court in the Hague on Tuesday after evading arrest on war crimes charges for seven years - a boost to the court following a string of setbacks.

Ntaganda is accused of murder, rape and other atrocities over a 15-year-period of fighting in Rwandan-backed rebellions in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He unexpectedly gave himself up to diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda last week, walking in off the street and demanding to be handed over the ICC. Within days he was put on a plane to The Hague.

His appearance in the court almost seven years after the court first issued a warrant for his arrest is a much-needed success story for the ICC following the collapse of several cases.

Most recently, prosecutors withdrew their case against Kenyan civil servant Francis Muthaura after a witness retracted his testimony, prompting lawyers for his co-accused Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya's president-elect, to demand that judges also drop charges against him.

With many of the court's suspects, including Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, at large and beyond its reach, Ntaganda's arrival is especially welcome to prosecutors and activists.

"Ntaganda's appearance at the ICC after years as a fugitive offers victims of horrific crimes a real hope of seeing justice," said Geraldine Mattioli-Zeltner, international justice advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

"Ntaganda's detention in The Hague shows that no one is above the law."

He is accused of recruiting child soldiers, murder, ethnic persecution, sexual slavery and rape during a 2002-2003 conflict in northeastern Congo's mineral-rich Ituri district.

His whereabouts had been unknown after he had fled to Rwanda with hundreds of his followers, and his decision to turn himself in to the U.S. Embassy in the capital Kigali caught diplomats there by surprise.

Analysts said he may have felt that his life would be safer in an ICC detention cell than in an increasingly hostile Rwanda. But it could still be a long while before the case moves to trial.

At Tuesday's hearing, Ntaganda will be asked to confirm his identity. The court is also likely to appoint a lawyer for him, and set a date for a hearing at which judges will decide whether the evidence against him is strong enough to warrant a trial.

The warlord, who was most recently a commander in the M23 rebel movement, will have been seen by doctors soon after his arrival at the court's detention centre.

He may also have been issued with a suit for his first court appearance, to replace his fatigues.

"We do everything that we can for the physical and psychological well-being of detainees," said ICC spokesman Fadi El-Abdallah, the ICC's spokesperson.

That included providing smart clothes for the suspect to wear to court.

(Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Sara Webb and Angus MacSwan)

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U.S., Russia aim to reconvene stalled missile defense talks

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian and U.S. defense chiefs signaled on Monday their intention to reconvene long-stalled missile defense talks, the Pentagon said, following a change in U.S. missile defense plans for Europe that has been met cautiously by Moscow.

There have been no meetings at the deputy minister-level since 2011, when six were held, a U.S. defense official told Reuters. Talks set for 2012 were canceled because of scheduling conflicts, he said.

The Pentagon said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu expressed a desire to reconvene the talks, and that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel assured him they would continue and would be carried forward by the Pentagon's policy chief, Jim Miller.

"We are very interested in further developments on the European missile defense and our minister offered to restart regular consultations on that between deputy ministers," Anatoly Antonov, a deputy of Shoigu, was quoted as saying by Russian news agency RIA.

The news came after a March 16 announcement that the United States would station 14 new anti-missile interceptors in Alaska in response to North Korean provocations, but at the same time forgo a new type of interceptor that would have been deployed in Europe.

Cold War-era foes Moscow and Washington have long been at loggerheads over the shield in Europe. President Barack Obama's move in 2009 to scale down earlier, Bush-administration plans only offered a short-lived respite. Russia's main concern is that the European shield would weaken its nuclear deterrent.

Russia's point man for U.S. relations, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, said on March 21 that the Obama administration's planned changes brought a new element to the issue.

He called for further dialogue, noting Moscow still had concern that U.S. missile defenses could threaten its security.

U.S. Admiral James Stavridis, NATO supreme allied commander Europe, noted Russia's concerns in an article published on NATO's website on Monday but said: "We strongly disagree."

"And (we) feel that the system is clearly designed to protect populations against Iran, Syria and other ballistic-missile capable nations that threaten the European continent," Stavridis wrote.

(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Xavier Briand)

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Russian tycoon Berezovsky died by hanging: police

By Maria Golovnina

LONDON (Reuters) - Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, whose body was found in the locked bathroom of his luxury mansion near London over the weekend, died by hanging, British police said on Monday.

An autopsy showed no signs of a violent struggle but further tests would be carried out, including toxicology and histology examinations, police said.

Once known as the grey cardinal of Kremlin politics, the former billionaire power broker helped Vladimir Putin come to power before fleeing in 2000 for Britain where he became one of the fiercest critics of Russia's new elite.

The 67-year-old Berezovsky's body was found in his sprawling property in Ascot, an affluent town a few miles (kilometers) from Queen Elizabeth's Windsor Castle, on Saturday.

His associates had hinted Berezovsky might have killed himself because he had been severely depressed after losing a bruising $6 billion court battle last year against another Russian tycoon, Roman Abramovich.

"The results of the post-mortem examination, carried out by a Home Office pathologist, have found the cause of death is consistent with hanging," police said in a statement. "The pathologist has found nothing to indicate a violent struggle."

Results of further tests are likely to take several more weeks to announce, police said.

The apparent suicide of one of the most powerful of the so-called oligarchs marks the end of an era for many Russians, an epoch where he symbolized the cut-throat world of Russia's new form of capitalism that followed decades of communist rule.

From his self-imposed exile in London, the chosen home of many business figures and dissidents who have fallen foul of the Kremlin, he vowed to overthrow the Russian leader whom he cast as a corrupt "bandit" backed by ex-KGB spies.

Always surrounded by controversy and conspiracy theories, Berezovsky survived several assassination attempts throughout his eventful life, including a bombing that decapitated his driver.

His friends and associates have said he felt devastated after losing a legal battle against former partner Abramovich over shares in Russia's fourth-biggest oil company last year.

At the time, British Judge Elizabeth Gloster humiliated him publicly by saying he was an "unimpressive and inherently unreliable witness" who would say "almost anything to support his case."

An impulsive and fast-talking character, Berezovsky lived the adrenaline-fuelled life of Russia's A-team of oligarchs, known for his love of cognac, beautiful women and an ability to talk well into the night.

He suffered another blow in 2011 when he was forced to pay one of Britain's biggest-ever divorce settlements to his former wife Galina, and local media have reported that the settlement was believed to be more than $100 million.

FEARED FOR LIFE

Berezovsky had been known as the "godfather of the Kremlin" and wielded immense influence in politics and business during a violent decade that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Once in exile, he often said he feared for his life, particularly after his friend and former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko died from radioactive polonium poisoning in 2006.

In Russia, Kremlin allies and pro-government media pressed ahead with portrayals of Berezovsky as a beaten man who had begged Putin's forgiveness in a last-ditch effort to return to his homeland. Berezovsky's friends in London have denied this.

Nationalist lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky said he had met Berezovsky by chance in the Israeli resort of Eilat in January, and that Berezovsky had said he would do "anything Moscow and the Kremlin told him" in order to return to Russia.

"The only condition (Berezovsky named) was a decree pardoning him" for the crimes he has been convicted of in Russia, Zhirinovsky told the Russian newspaper Izvestia in an interview published on Monday.

A former mathematician, Berezovsky made millions running post-Soviet car dealerships and expanded his business empire massively throughout the 1990s.

He was one of a handful of well-connected businessmen who became instant billionaires under former president Boris Yeltsin when the state arranged for them to buy giant state owned companies for what quickly proved to be a fraction of their value.

As one of the central figures in Yeltsin's inner circle, he helped forge the career of Yeltsin's hand-picked successor Putin, an obscure and quiet official named prime minister in 1999 and acting president when Yeltsin resigned on millennium eve.

After Putin was confirmed in the presidency in an election in 2000, Berezovsky quickly fell out with him and left for Britain from where he consistently denounced his former ally as corrupt.

(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman in Moscow and Ankur Banerjee in Bangalore; Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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Central African Republic rebel chief to name power-sharing government

By Ange Aboa and Paul-Marin Ngoupana

BANGUI (Reuters) - The leader of rebels in Central African Republic pledged to name a power-sharing government in a bid to defuse international criticism of a coup that killed 13 South African soldiers and has plunged the mineral-rich nation into chaos.

Regional peacekeepers said that leader of the Seleka rebel coalition, self-proclaimed president Michel Djotodia, appealed for their help in restoring order after his own men joined in a second day of looting on Monday in the riverside capital Bangui.

The rebels' ousting of President Francois Bozize on Sunday was condemned by the United Nations and African Union. But in a sign of pragmatism, the United States, France and regional powerbroker Chad called on the insurgents to respect a January peace deal creating a unity government.

Some 5,000 Seleka fighters swept into the capital on Sunday after a lightning offensive in which they fought their way from the far north to the presidential palace in four days after the collapse of the power-sharing deal, the Libreville Accord.

Neighboring Cameroon confirmed on Monday that Bozize had arrived there but said it was not giving him permanent refuge.

The removal of Bozize, who had himself seized power in a coup backed by Chad in 2003, was just the latest of many rebellions since the poor, landlocked country won independence from France in 1960.

"We will lead the people of Central African Republic during a three-year transition period, in accordance with the Libreville Accord," Djotodia said in a recorded statement issued to reporters. It was not broadcast due to power cuts.

January's peace deal signed at Libreville, the capital of Gabon, was drafted by regional mediators after the rebels has besieged Bangui in December. The accord had created a government drawn from Bozize loyalists, rebels and the civilian opposition.

Djotodia said that civilian opposition representative Nicolas Tiangaye would remain in place as prime minister.

The U.N. Security Council on Monday called for all parties to refrain from violence against civilians, the restoration of the rule of law, constitutional order and the implementation of the Libreville deal. The council said it would monitor the situation and was ready to consider further steps if necessary.

In Bangui, 600,000 residents of the capital remained without power and running water for a third day. Despite a curfew, there was widespread pillaging of offices, public buildings and businesses by rebels and civilians.

"Public order is the biggest problem right now," said General Jean Felix Akaga, commander of the regional African peacekeeping force. "Seleka's leaders are struggling to control their men. The president has asked us to help restore calm."

He said rebels would be confined to barracks from Monday.

International aid group Doctors Without Borders said its offices in Bangui and elsewhere in the country had been looted, and urged all sides to ensure people had access to health care.

'SAD MOMENT' FOR SOUTH AFRICA

With France's military contingent refusing to intervene, two heavily armed columns of insurgents in pick-up trucks stormed into Bangui the previous day, brushing aside a South African force of 400 troops which attempted to block their path.

South African President Jacob Zuma said at least 13 soldiers were killed and 27 others wounded in the fighting, the worst military setback for Pretoria since the end of apartheid in 1994 and an embarrassing snub to its efforts to project its power in the resource-rich heart of Africa.

"It is a sad moment for our country," Zuma said, adding that another soldier was still missing.

"The actions of these bandits will not deter us from our responsibility of working for peace and stability in Africa."

Zuma said South Africa had yet to decided whether to pull out its force, which he said had inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels during a nine-hour attack on the South African base.

"This is complete disaster for South Africa," said Thierry Vircoulon, Central African specialist at the International Crisis Group. "They did not at all understand they were backing the wrong horse. They did not consult within the region."

French troops patrolling the international airport in the capital killed two Indian citizens when three vehicles tried to enter the facility, France's defense ministry said.

Seleka, a loose coalition of five rebel groups whose name means "alliance" in the Songo language, was formed last year after Bozize had failed to implement power-sharing in the wake of disputed 2011 elections boycotted by the opposition.

It resumed hostilities on Thursday after military leaders of the group detained its five members of Bozize's government and accused the president of violating January's peace deal by failing to integrate 2,000 of its fighters into the army.

"The movements that make up Seleka have a long history of divisions," Vircoulon said. "The cohesion of Seleka will be tested now they are in full control."

Despite rich deposits of gold, diamonds and uranium, Central African Republic remains one of the world's least developed and most unstable nations.

Bozize rose in the military during the 1966-1979 rule of dictator Jean-Bedel Bokassa, a self-styled emperor found guilty of the murder of schoolchildren and other crimes.

In recent years, Bozize's government had hosted U.S. Special Forces helping regional armies hunt down the Lord's Resistance Army rebels, led by a Ugandan warlord, who have killed thousands of civilians during decades of conflict.

FRENCH NATIONALS SAFE

Paris, which already had 250 soldiers in Central African Republic, has sent another 300 troops to ensure the security of its citizens and diplomatic missions.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said there was no need to evacuate the 1,200 French nationals, most of whom are in the capital. "Things are under control from our point of view regarding French nationals," Fabius told Europe 1 radio.

French President Francois Hollande spoke to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Chadian President Idriss Deby to suggest that any solution to the crisis should be based on the Libreville agreement, Fabius added.

"For now, there is no legitimate authority there," he said, adding that France did not see it as its place to intervene.

France offered its condolences to India for the killing of Indian civilians and Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was due to speak with his Indian counterpart in the coming hours, the defense ministry said in a statement.

The U.S. State Department also called on Seleka to ensure the implementation of the Libreville agreement and provide full support to Tiangaye's government. Regional military power Chad said the same in a statement on Sunday.

(Additional reporting by Leigh Thomas in Paris, Richard Valdmanis in Dakar and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Writing by Daniel Flynn and David Lewis; Editing by Peter Graff, Anna Willard, Alastair Macdonald and Cynthia Osterman)

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Mursi warning stirs fears in Egypt opposition

By Tom Perry

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi threatened on Sunday to take unspecified steps to "protect this nation" after violent demonstrations against his Muslim Brotherhood, using vague but severe language that the opposition said heralded a crackdown.

In remarks following clashes outside the Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters on Friday, Mursi warned that "necessary measures" would be taken against any politicians shown to be involved in what he described as violence and rioting.

"If I am forced to do what is required to protect this nation, then I will do it. And I fear that I might be on the verge of doing it," Mursi said in a statement. He did not elaborate.

Mursi has faced increasing anger since the Brotherhood propelled him to power in a June election, and several spates of protest have turned into violent riots.

Mursi's opponents accuse him and the Brotherhood of seeking to dominate the post-Hosni Mubarak era and resorting to undemocratic police powers two years after autocrat Mubarak was brought down by popular protests.

The brotherhood accuses its secularist opponents of stirring trouble to seize power they could not win at the ballot box, and says the relentless civil unrest is wrecking efforts to salvage an economy driven to its knees by uncertainty.

"They are very scary comments," said Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the National Salvation Front (NSF), an alliance of non-Islamist parties formed late last year to oppose Mursi.

"I can see language that is heading towards taking some suppressive measures," he added.

Dozens of people were hurt on Friday when several thousand supporters and opponents of the Brotherhood fought near the Islamist group's headquarters.

RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE

Dawoud said the NSF was not behind those protests, but added that some of its members may have decided to take part.

Mursi said everyone had the right to peaceful protest, but "what is happening now has nothing to do with the revolution".

"I urge all political forces not to provide any political cover for acts of violence and rioting. I will not be happy if investigations prove the guilt of some politicians," he said in the remarks, which were published on his Twitter account.

"Some are using the media to incite violence and those whose involvement is proven will not escape punishment," he added. "Anyone who takes part in incitement is a partner in the crime."

He also spoke of attempts to portray the state as weak but said these had failed: "The apparatus of the state are recovering and can deter any law breaker," he added.

Exactly what new steps Mursi is considering became the subject of speculation.

In late January, he declared a state of emergency rule in three cities near the Suez Canal to combat a wave of violence there. A declaration of a state of emergency elsewhere is unlikely, said Yasser El-Shimy, Egypt analyst for the International Crisis Group, adding arrests were more probable.

"My impression is that Mursi and the Brotherhood in general have had it with the violence that is taking place and they are running out of patience," he said.

"This is definitely the strictest he has spoken regarding the rioting," he added. "Now Mursi feels there is enough public opinion on his side to justify taking stricter measures."

One recent source of tension between Mursi and the opposition was his call for parliamentary elections based on a controversial election law. The vote, due to begin in late April, has been postponed by a court ruling and it is now not clear when it will happen.

Mursi's political supporters and opponents signed a document agreeing to renounce violence following riots in late January.

Mursi's opponents say they are committed to peaceful protest and have also accused the Brotherhood of using violence and inciting tension in the street. The Brotherhood says the opposition has done little to rein in its followers.

(Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy; Editing by Peter Graff)

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Moderate face of Syrian uprising quits

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) - The head of Syria's main opposition group resigned on Sunday, weakening the moderate wing of the two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's rule and complicating Western efforts to back the rebels.

The resignation of Moaz Alkhatib, a former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus who had offered Assad a negotiated exit, could make the West more cautious in supporting the revolt. Alkhatib was seen as a moderate bulwark against the rising influence of al-Qaeda linked jihadist forces.

Syrian opposition leaders are due to attend an Arab League summit this week, Qatar said earlier on Sunday, looking for more support for their armed uprising.

Michael Stephens, researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in Doha, said Alkhatib's resignation throws a spanner into the summit.

"The premise of the summit is to determine whether the opposition has a legitimate right to sit with Arab states," Stephens said. "While Khatib may have blamed the EU summit, it is well known that the Arab League is meeting today, and his resignation will have a serious effect on the process."

Alkhatib was picked to head the Western and Gulf-backed National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, which was formed in Qatar in November.

His resignation is seen as having been to some degree caused by Qatar, the main backer of his political foes in the coalition, and the country spearheading Arab support for the revolt as its geopolitical ramifications deepen.

The conflict pits Syria's Sunni Muslim majority against Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that has controlled the country for almost five decades, deepening the Sunni-Shi'ite divide in the Middle East and raising tension between Gulf states and Iran.

Asked to comment on Alkhatib's resignation, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said in Doha: "We are very sorry for this, and I hope he reviews his resignation."

PROMISE TO GOD

Alkhatib quit after the coalition berated him for offering Assad a deal and after the group went ahead, despite his objections, with steps to form a provisional government that would have further diminished his authority.

"I had promised the great Syrian people and promised God that I would resign if matters reached some red lines," Alkhatib said in a statement on his official Facebook page, without explaining exactly what had prompted his resignation.

"Now I am fulfilling my promise and announcing my resignation from the National Coalition in order to be able to work with freedom that cannot be available within the official institutions," he said.

U.S. Secretary John Kerry, on a trip to Baghdad, expressed regret at Alhatib's decision.

"With respect to Moaz Alkhatib, I am personally sorry to see him go because I like him on a personal level and because I have appreciated his leadership but the notion that he might resign has frankly been expressed by him on many different occasions in many different places and it is not a surprise," Kerry said.

He made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and said he told Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of his concern about Iranian flights over Iraq carrying arms to Syria.

"Anything that supports President Assad is problematic," Kerry told reporters.

RISE OF ISLAMISTS

Last week, the coalition chose Islamist-leaning technocrat Ghassan Hitto as a provisional prime minister to form a government to fill a power vacuum in Syria arising from the revolt that has killed more than 70,000 people.

Hitto visited the Syrian commercial hub of Aleppo on Sunday to draw up a plan to restore services in parts of the city that have fallen to the opposition, according to a statement issued by his office.

Alkhatib, who had argued insufficient groundwork had been done to start forming a government, was weakened considerably, along with a moderate wing of the revolution as jihadist Salafists play a bigger role on the battlefield.

The rise of Salafists as the most effective fighting force, and their recent gains on the ground, have contributed to the coalition adopting a more hardline stance in recent weeks, rejecting dialogue with Assad except under strict conditions and ignoring promises to include more women and minorities.

Hitto, whose cabinet is supposed to govern rebel-held areas currently ruled by hundreds of brigades and emerging warlords, was backed by the Muslim Brotherhood and coalition Secretary General Mustafa Sabbagh, who has strong links with Qatar.

"Basically Qatar and the Brotherhood forced Alkhatib out. In Alkhatib they had a figure who was gaining popularity inside Syria but he acted too independently for their taste," said Fawaz Tello, an independent opposition campaigner.

"They brought in Hitto. The position of Alkhatib as leader became untenable."

The appointment of Hitto prompted nine people to suspend their membership in the 62-member body, saying that promises to reform the coalition and respect consensus have been discarded.

Earlier this year, Alkhatib floated an initiative for the opposition to talk to Assad's administration about a political transition, but said the Damascus government did not respond.

Moaz al-Shami, a leading activist in Damascus, said Alkhatib's resignation deprived the coalition, which consists mostly of exiles, of the figure best-known inside Syria, but that Alkhatib still could still play a major role in the revolt.

Alawite opposition activists called for Assad's overthrow on Sunday and urged their co-religionists in the army to rebel.

In the first meeting of its kind by Alawites who support the revolt, delegates distanced themselves from Assad.

"We call on our brothers in the Syrian army, specifically members of our sect, not to take up arms against their people and to refuse to join the army," the delegates said in a statement after two days of meeting in Cairo.

In the town of Adra on the outskirts of Damascus, opposition campaigners said Syrian government forces fired chemical weapons from multiple rocket launchers at rebels surrounding an army base, killing two fighters and wounding 23.

There was no independent confirmation of the attack. Video footage showed one man in a hospital bed with his hands shaking, while doctors were trying to stabilize another man. Another patient was shown with saliva pouring from his mouth.

(Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy and Tom Perry and Ulf Laessing in Cairo, Arshad Mohammed in Baghdad, Sami Abboudi, Bill Mclean and Regan Doherty in the Gulf; Editing by Stephen Powell)

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Britain's PM Cameron unveils sweeping immigration crackdown

By Andrew Osborn

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron will unveil a sweeping immigration crackdown on Monday aimed at discouraging migrants from Romania and Bulgaria from moving to Britain when EU restrictions on their right to travel and work there expire next year.

Under his plans, access to Britain's National Health Service will be curbed, new migrants will have to wait up to five years for social housing, fines for employers who hire illegal workers will be doubled, and landlords who let to illegal immigrants could face fines too.

The lifting of European Union freedom of movement restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians has triggered warnings in the right-leaning press of "hordes" of welfare-hungry migrants descending on Britain at a time when the economy is stagnant and public resources are being squeezed.

Cameron's initiative reflects a change in the political mainstream after years of politicians shying away from the issue. All three main parties now talk tough on immigration after polls showed it had become one of voters' main worries ahead of a 2015 election and a once derided anti-immigration party surged in the polls.

In a speech that may stir controversy in Romania and Bulgaria, Cameron will say he wants to stop Britain's welfare system being "a soft touch" for migrants, saying that access to core public services is something newcomers should earn rather than automatically receive.

"Net migration needs to come down radically from hundreds of thousands a year to just tens of thousands," he will say, outlining measures that will apply to other EU nationals too.

The UK Independence Party or UKIP, has thrived in the polls after campaigning against "open-door" immigration, humiliating Cameron's ruling Conservative party in a vote for a parliamentary seat three weeks ago.

Cameron is expected to say: "While I have always believed in the benefits of immigration I have also always believed that immigration has to be properly controlled.

"As I have long argued, under the last government this simply wasn't the case. Immigration was far too high and badly out of control."

"SOMETHING FOR NOTHING CULTURE"

He will announce new measures to make it more difficult for nationals from the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes Romania and Bulgaria, to claim welfare benefits after six months. They will take effect in early 2014.

He will also promise to close a loophole that allows some people who have no right to work in Britain to claim benefits and subject newcomers to a much harder test to see if they are eligible for income-related benefits.

"Ending the something for nothing culture needs to apply to immigration as well as welfare. We're going to give migrants from the EEA a very clear message. Just like British citizens, there is no absolute right to unemployment benefit," he will say.

Under the plans, newcomers would also have to wait for up to five years before they could join a waiting list for social housing, and face "stricter charging" to use the health service or be obliged to have private health insurance.

"We should be clear that what we have is a free National Health Service, not a free International Health Service," Cameron will say.

His initiative has already been criticized by David Walker, the Bishop of Dudley, who told The Observer newspaper that politicians were exaggerating the immigration problem and considering "disproportionate" measures.

Last Friday, Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democrat party, the junior member of Cameron's coalition, said Britain was considering obliging visitors from "high-risk" countries to hand over a returnable cash bond to deter them from overstaying their visas.

He also abandoned a promise to amnesty illegal immigrants after ten years.

Nigel Farage, the leader of UKIP, said on Saturday that the unexpected success of his own party had shifted the debate on immigration.

"If UKIP had not taken on this immigration debate, the others would not be talking about it at all," he told his party conference.

(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

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Rebels capture Central African Republic capital, president flees

By Paul-Marin Ngoupana

BANGUI (Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic seized the riverside capital Bangui in fierce fighting on Sunday, forcing President Francois Bozize to flee and sowing confusion over who rules the mineral-rich heart of Africa.

At least nine South African soldiers were killed trying to prevent the rebels from taking Bangui, a Reuters witness said, dealing a blow to Pretoria's attempt to stabilize the chaotic central African nation and assert its influence in the region.

The Seleka rebel coalition resumed hostilities on Thursday in the former French colony and quickly swept south to Bangui with the aim of ousting Bozize, whom it accused of breaking a January peace deal to integrate its fighters into the army.

"We have taken the presidential palace," Eric Massi, a Seleka spokesman, told Reuters by telephone early on Sunday.

Government officials confirmed the rebels had captured the city of more than 600,000 people, which lies on the banks of the Oubangi river bordering Democratic Republic of Congo.

The violence is the latest in a series of rebel incursions, clashes and coups that have plagued the landlocked nation - which has rich yet underexploited deposits of gold, diamonds and uranium - since independence from France in 1960.

Bozize rose to prominence in the military during the 1966-1979 rule of former dictator Jean-Bedel Bokassa, a self-styled emperor. Bozize seized power in a 2003 coup but his failure to make good on promises of power sharing after winning disputed 2011 polls led to the offensive by five rebel groups known as Seleka, which means "alliance" in the Sango language.

Seleka leader Michel Djotodia, named as deputy prime minister after January's peace deal, proclaimed himself interim president on Sunday, the movement's Secretary-General Justin Kombo told Reuters.

France's RFI radio said Djotodia had asked Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye to lead a government to the next elections, scheduled for three years' time. He also imposed a curfew in Bangui, where residents reported widespread pillaging.

"The looting is bad. Both the population and Seleka are involved," said one senior U.N. official in Bangui. "We are not sure who is in charge. I don't think it is clear yet."

France, which already had 250 soldiers in Central African Republic, has sent another 300 troops from Gabon since Friday to ensure the security of French citizens and diplomatic installations in Bangui, according to the defense ministry.

CALLS FOR SWIFT ELECTIONS

Chadian President Idriss Deby, a regional power broker, recognized in a statement on Sunday that Seleka controlled the country and ordered regional peacekeepers to help restore security to the capital.

Djotodia's announcement was rejected by some members of his own loose rebel coalition - several of whom are former rivals.

"We are not there to take power by force. We'll put in place a transitional authority of 18 months then go to elections," said Nelson Ndjadder, spokesman for Seleka's CPSK faction.

Martin Ziguele, a former prime minister and president of the civilian opposition MLPC, said he would support Djotodia as interim president provided the transition lasted only one year.

The African Union condemned the rebels' seizure of power, calling for "unified, decisive action" from its members and threatening the country with suspension from the body and Seleka's members with targeted sanctions.

The whereabouts of Bozize - who seized power in a 2003 coup backed by neighboring Chad - were uncertain. A presidential advisor said he had crossed the river into Congo on Sunday morning as rebel forces headed for the presidential palace.

Congo's information minister said Bozize's wife and children - including his eldest son Francis, the former head of defense - were flown out of the Congolese border town of Zongo by the U.N. peacekeeping mission. But he said the ousted president was not among them: "Bozize is not in Democratic Republic of Congo."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius confirmed Bozize had fled Bangui, but gave no details of his whereabouts. He appealed to France's 1,200 citizens in the country to remain calm and stay in their homes.

The city remained without electricity and water as night fell on Sunday after the Seleka forces - who had seized the nearby town of Boali with its electricity station - turned off the power a day earlier.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the outages were hindering medical staff attempting to care for the many injured arriving at the city's hospitals.

France has only limited economic interests in the turbulent country. French nuclear giant Areva shuttered its Bakouma uranium project for two years in 2011 following a fall in uranium prices after the Fukushima disaster.

NINE SOUTH AFRICANS DEAD

Seleka's forces had fought their way to the northern suburbs of Bangui late on Saturday before an overnight lull in the fighting. Residents said heavy weapons fire erupted across the city around 8 a.m.

Seleka's Massi said the rebels had broken through a line of South African soldiers during their push into the city. Around 400 South African troops were deployed in the country as military trainers.

"I saw the bodies of six South African soldiers. They had all been shot," a Reuters witness said. Later, he saw three more bodies in burned-out South African military vehicles.

Regional peacekeeping sources said the South Africans had fought alongside the Central African Republic's army on Saturday to prevent rebels entering the capital.

South African army spokesman Brigadier-General Xolani Mabanga confirmed that the country's contingent in Bangui had sustained casualties when they came under attack on Saturday, but he declined to give further details.

A source with the United Nations in Bangui said the South Africans had asked for assistance from French forces to help them leave the country.

Several peacekeepers from the Central African regional force, including three Chadians, were also killed on Saturday, when a helicopter operated by Bozize's forces attacked them, Chad's presidency said in a statement.

Seleka's CPSK faction spokesman, Ndjadder, called upon fighters and the population to stay calm and avoid looting.

A Reuters witness, however, saw youths pillaging houses -including the residence of Bozize's son, Francis - in the northern part of the city.

Rebel fighters directed looters towards the houses of army officers but fired their rifles in the air to protect the homes of ordinary citizens, the witness said.

Seleka fought its way to the gates of Bangui last year after accusing Bozize of violating an earlier peace deal to give its fighters cash and jobs in exchange for laying down their arms.

(Additional by Daniel Flynn and David Lewis in Dakar, Lionel Laurent and John Irish in Paris, Ange Aboa in Lome, Bienvenu Bakumanya in Kinshasa, and Madjiasra Nako in N'Djamena; writing by Joe Bavier and Daniel Flynn; Editing by Jason Webb and Sandra Maler)

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Australia PM appoints new resources minister in reshuffle

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's prime minister appointed Gary Gray, a former adviser to the country's largest oil and gas firm Woodside Petroleum, as resources minister on Monday in a cabinet reshuffle forced by a string of ministerial resignations.

Gray, a senior Labor party figure in the resource-rich Western Australia state, should ensure an advocate for the resources industry remains in place at a time when investment in the sector is slowing amid signs the mining boom has peaked.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard also said the Climate Change Department, which has overseen the introduction of a controversial carbon tax, would now be merged with the Industry Department, and would be overseen by Climate Change Minister Greg Combet.

However, Gillard made no changes to the crucial Treasury or Finance Ministry, held by Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan and Penny Wong respectively.

The reshuffle was forced on the government after a botched leadership coup last Thursday by forces loyal to former leader Kevin Rudd, with three cabinet ministers and two junior ministers quitting after supporting Rudd.

Gillard has set elections for September 14, which opinions polls currently show she is almost to certain to lose, meaning the reshuffle's impact is likely to be limited.

Among those to resign was former Resources Minister Martin Ferguson, who was regarded as a business friendly minister and a strong supporter of the mining industry in Gillard's cabinet.

Around A$400 billion ($418 billion) has been invested in Australian resources projects over the past decade, with a further A$200 billion in liquefied natural gas projects, but the boom appears to be slowing.

The mining employer group Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) said Gray was well known to the industry and should help attract investment to the sector.

Gray joined the Labor party in 1974. He quit the party in 2000 to work for conglomerate Wesfarmers and later as a public relations adviser for Woodside Petroleum, in order to help shape its defense in a takeover battle with Royal Dutch Shell.

Shell eventually withdrew its bid after it was deemed harmful to the national interest by then Treasurer Peter Costello, thanks in part to Gray's campaign to muster public sentiment against Shell.

($1 = 0.9572 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by James Grubel; Editing by Ed Davies)

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