FSA is in talks with Islamic Front to unite efforts: Chiefs spokesman

Rebels Joint Chiefs of Staff is in talks with the Islamic Front in order to unite efforts on the ground to confront Assad regime, Chiefs representative in the National Coalition told Zaman Alwasl.

Louay al-Miqdad says that ‘Joint Chiefs’ is looking for a common ground right now to unit efforts to bring down Bashar al-Assad, assuring that no concerns regarding the ideological backgrounds of the rebel groups.

The relation between the opposition's Supreme Military Council (SMC)  and IF has witnessed mounting disputes for the last three weeks, when IF fighters took control of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) bases at the Bab al-Hawa crossing on Syria's northwestern border.

It was unclear why the Islamic Front had seized the SMC premises and it was not known if any stock had gone missing.

SMC commander Gen. Salim Idriss and his spokesman al-Miqdad have released many statements to bridge the gap with Islamic rebels in time the FSA power is declining.

 Free Syrian Army leaders have warned of the mounting influence of Al Qaeda affiliated groups in rebels due to the deteriorating power of moderate fighting groups, Zaman Alwasl reporter said.

"As a result of this situation, the United States has suspended all further deliveries of non-lethal assistance into northern Syria," the U.S. spokesman said, adding humanitarian assistance was not impacted because it is distributed through international and non-governmental organizations.

Syria's armed uprising began as a series of peaceful democracy protests 33 months ago but escalated into a full-blown civil war after Assad's regime launched a brutal crackdown on dissent.

The conflict is estimated to have killed around 126,000 people and displaced millions more.