DOHA (AFP) - Syria's main opposition group took the country's seat at the Arab League for the first time on Tuesday as the 22-member bloc opened a summit in the Qatari capital Doha.

The rebel flag replaced the official Syrian one as Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, who has resigned as the head of the National Coalition but said he would address the summit, took his seat at the gathering.

The Arab League suspended Damascus' membership in Nov 2011 over the refusal of President Bashar al-Assad's regime to halt its bloody crackdown on democracy protests.