Burhan Ghalioun, a Syrian-French political scientist at the Sorbonne University in Paris, has been appointed the chairman of the Syrian opposition Transitional National Council, Al Jazeera said on Monday.

Syrian opposition leaders announced the appointment during their visit to the Turkish capital of Ankara.

They also said that the Transitional National Council, whose creation was announced by Syrian dissidents after four-day talks with Turkish officials in Istanbul last week, will consist of 94 people.

The opposition leaders said the council would coordinate their efforts to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has faced a popular uprising against his family's 40-year rule since mid-March.

Ghalioun heads the Sorbonne University Center for Contemporary Oriental Studies.

International pressure on the Assad regime has increased since early August, after the president ignored calls by foreign leaders and international organizations to stop his bloody crackdown on protesters, which has already claimed more than 2,200 lives, according to UN estimates.