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Syrian rebel alliances shatter as former al-Qaeda group attacks FSA
 [MIDDLEEASTEYE.NET] Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate on Tuesday launched major co-ordinated assaults on Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... groups in northwestern Syria as FSA representatives attended peace talks in Kazakhstan. Reports suggest mass assaults by members of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... (JFS) on FSA factions around Idlib and Aleppo province. Heavy artillery, suicide bombs and even attacks on internet access in Idlib were reported on Twitter, suggesting JFS was executing a planned strategy across a wide front. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor, said the festivities began early in the day with an attack by JFS on a base belonging to the Jaish al-Mujahideen faction of the FSA. That attack prompted further festivities along the border between Idlib province and northern Aleppo province. Officials from JFS, previously known as the Nusra Front and the Syrian arm of al-Qaeda, could not immediately be reached for comment. Ahrar al-Sham ...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... , an ally of the FSA which has already fought battles with JFS this week in Idlib, released a statement apparently warning its rival to cease fire or face further resistance. The statement said the JFS assault was "without justification or legitimate reason", an aid to the rebels' enemies, and that Ahrar would join its "brothers" to contain JFS. Tensions have been building between JFS and more moderate rebel groups since the opposition was defeated in Aleppo last month. JFS is not covered by a shaky truce between government forces and rebels who are meeting in the Kazakh capital Astana. The aim of the meeting, organised by Russia, ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Iran, is to shore up the ceasefire. The JFS assault focused on rebel-held areas to the west of Aleppo, and adjoining areas of Idlib province, which is almost entirely in rebel hands. An official in one of the rebel groups, Jabha Shamiya, told Rooters the attack began overnight, describing it as a large assault in several areas. The official said it was the first time JFS had attacked the FSA groups in that area. "What they are doing serves Iran and the regime - so there is no FSA left in the north - particularly with the factions' delegation now in Astana where the regime offered nothing with regards to the ceasefire," said the Jabha Shamiya official. The FSA groups now needed to coordinate their efforts to repel the attack, he said. The commander of a second FSA rebel group, Jaish al-Mujahideen, told Rooters the "extremely fierce" JFS attack aimed to "eliminate the revolution and turn it black", a reference to the black flag flown by the Lions of Islam in Syria. Posted by: Fred 2017-01-25 |
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