(Zaman Al Wasl)- About 700 rebel fighters have defected from the Nour al-Din al-Zinki group, joining Faylaq al-Sham near the Turkish border as their group preferred to take place in a newly-formed alliance including al Qaeda's former branch, sources said Tuesday.
Several Islamist factions including Fateh al-Sham said on Saturday they were joining forces, as clashes between jihadists and more moderate rebels raged on in northwestern areas.
An online statement issued by the Islamist factions said Haya't Tahrir al-Sham (Liberation of the Levant Committee) was formed to mend splits among rebel groups and strengthen opposition to the Syrian regime.
The signatories were Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly al Qaeda's Nusra Front, the Nour al-Din al-Zinki group, Liwa al-Haqq, Jaish al-Sunna and Jabhat Ansar al-Din.
Jaish al-Shamal group has alos joined the Turkish-backed Faylaq al-Shma at the Turkish border.
The powerful Fateh al-Sham launched attacks against more moderate rebel factions west of Aleppo and in the rebel stronghold province of Idlib, and routed at least one Free Syrian Army faction.
Some groups fighting against the former al Qaeda branch also joined forces earlier in the week under another powerful but less hardline Islamist group, Ahrar al-Sham.
The two tacit alliances formed on both sides of the rebels' infighting, while some other groups have remained outside either camp, show the sharp split between the jihadist section of the insurgency fighting Bashar al-Assad, and the more moderate, foreign-backed groups.
Several Islamist factions including Fateh al-Sham said on Saturday they were joining forces, as clashes between jihadists and more moderate rebels raged on in northwestern areas.
An online statement issued by the Islamist factions said Haya't Tahrir al-Sham (Liberation of the Levant Committee) was formed to mend splits among rebel groups and strengthen opposition to the Syrian regime.
The signatories were Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly al Qaeda's Nusra Front, the Nour al-Din al-Zinki group, Liwa al-Haqq, Jaish al-Sunna and Jabhat Ansar al-Din.
Jaish al-Shamal group has alos joined the Turkish-backed Faylaq al-Shma at the Turkish border.
The powerful Fateh al-Sham launched attacks against more moderate rebel factions west of Aleppo and in the rebel stronghold province of Idlib, and routed at least one Free Syrian Army faction.
Some groups fighting against the former al Qaeda branch also joined forces earlier in the week under another powerful but less hardline Islamist group, Ahrar al-Sham.
The two tacit alliances formed on both sides of the rebels' infighting, while some other groups have remained outside either camp, show the sharp split between the jihadist section of the insurgency fighting Bashar al-Assad, and the more moderate, foreign-backed groups.
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