(Zaman Al Wasl)- Ahrar al-Sham movement said it will stand in the face of powerful jihadist group of Fateh al-Sham after a series of attacks on moderate rebels groups this week, according to a voice message by general leader.
Abu Ammar al-Omar, Ahrar al-Sham’s general commander, said his movement will mobilize its troops to the the infighting between the former al-Qaeda group and Jaish al-Mujahideen, accusing Fateh al-Sham of rejecting mediation efforts
that the FSA groups had accepted.
Ahrar al-Sham issued a general call-up of fighters to "stop the fighting in any form". Coming down on the side of the FSA groups.
Al-Omar said: "If the fighting continues and if one party continues to do an injustice to another, then we will not allow this to pass, regardless of the cost, even if we become victims of this."
The heavy fighting erupted on Tuesday between the previously known as the Nusra Front and Jaish al-Mujahideen.
Fateh a-Sham has dismantled Jaish al-Mujahideen from all weapons and took its bases in Aleppo in Idlib provinces after a surprise attack sparked wide condemnation by rebels groups and residents.
Jaish al-Mujahideen fighters have withdrawn from all checkpoints and bastions that have been under Fateh al-Sham's control, senior commander told Zaman al-Wasl on Wednesday.
An FSA commander told Reuters the "extremely fierce" Fateh al-Sham attack aimed to "eliminate the revolution and turn it black", a reference to the black flag flown by the jihadists in Syria.
Ahrar al-Sham has also accused Fateh al-Sham on Tuesday of attacking other groups without justification.
It said in a statement that it was deploying fighters as to prevent further fighting and setting up barricades to stop "Jabhat Fateh al-Sham or others" from going to attack Muslims".
An official in Jabha Shamiya, another FSA group, told Reuters the attack began overnight, describing it as a large assault in several areas. The official said it was the first time Fateh al-Sham 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.
Long-standing tensions between Fateh al-Sham and more moderate rebels, a number of them backed by Turkey and other states that have opposed Assad, have surfaced again since government forces helped by Russian air power and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias drove the rebels out of Aleppo last month.
Fateh al-Sham is not covered by a shaky truce between the regime and rebels brokered by Russia and Turkey. The aim of the meeting in Astana, organized by Russia, Turkey and Iran, is to shore up the ceasefire that came into effect on Dec. 30.
Fateh al-Sham has a history of crushing FSA groups in the conflict that began in 2011. One of the single biggest groups in the insurgency, Fateh al-Sham has been targeted in a spate of U.S. air strikes in the northwest since the new year.
One of those strikes killed dozens of its fighters at a training camp in Idlib last week. The Pentagon said that attack was carried out by a B-52 bomber and killed more than 100 al Qaeda fighters.
Abu Ammar al-Omar, Ahrar al-Sham’s general commander, said his movement will mobilize its troops to the the infighting between the former al-Qaeda group and Jaish al-Mujahideen, accusing Fateh al-Sham of rejecting mediation efforts
that the FSA groups had accepted.
Ahrar al-Sham issued a general call-up of fighters to "stop the fighting in any form". Coming down on the side of the FSA groups.
Al-Omar said: "If the fighting continues and if one party continues to do an injustice to another, then we will not allow this to pass, regardless of the cost, even if we become victims of this."
The heavy fighting erupted on Tuesday between the previously known as the Nusra Front and Jaish al-Mujahideen.
Fateh a-Sham has dismantled Jaish al-Mujahideen from all weapons and took its bases in Aleppo in Idlib provinces after a surprise attack sparked wide condemnation by rebels groups and residents.
Jaish al-Mujahideen fighters have withdrawn from all checkpoints and bastions that have been under Fateh al-Sham's control, senior commander told Zaman al-Wasl on Wednesday.
An FSA commander told Reuters the "extremely fierce" Fateh al-Sham attack aimed to "eliminate the revolution and turn it black", a reference to the black flag flown by the jihadists in Syria.
Ahrar al-Sham has also accused Fateh al-Sham on Tuesday of attacking other groups without justification.
It said in a statement that it was deploying fighters as to prevent further fighting and setting up barricades to stop "Jabhat Fateh al-Sham or others" from going to attack Muslims".
An official in Jabha Shamiya, another FSA group, told Reuters the attack began overnight, describing it as a large assault in several areas. The official said it was the first time Fateh al-Sham 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.
Long-standing tensions between Fateh al-Sham and more moderate rebels, a number of them backed by Turkey and other states that have opposed Assad, have surfaced again since government forces helped by Russian air power and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias drove the rebels out of Aleppo last month.
Fateh al-Sham is not covered by a shaky truce between the regime and rebels brokered by Russia and Turkey. The aim of the meeting in Astana, organized by Russia, Turkey and Iran, is to shore up the ceasefire that came into effect on Dec. 30.
Fateh al-Sham has a history of crushing FSA groups in the conflict that began in 2011. One of the single biggest groups in the insurgency, Fateh al-Sham has been targeted in a spate of U.S. air strikes in the northwest since the new year.
One of those strikes killed dozens of its fighters at a training camp in Idlib last week. The Pentagon said that attack was carried out by a B-52 bomber and killed more than 100 al Qaeda fighters.
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