Rebel fighters were laying siege Monday to al-Qaeda-linked jihadists
in their northern stronghold of Raqqa, managing to free 50 people they had
detained, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Raqqa emerged as a new front Sunday
in fighting between rebels battling to oust President Bashar al-Assad, with
various groups joining forces against al-Qaeda affiliate the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Agence France-Presse reported.
“The rebels have been laying siege to
ISIL’s headquarters in the city of Raqqa since last night. They released 50
Syrian prisoners held by ISIL in another building,” said the Observatory.
Raqqa is the only provincial capital
to have fallen out of regime hands since the devastating conflict broke out in
March 2011.
Meanwhile, activists said dozens of
fighters were killed in the clashes between rival rebel groups which have raged
since Friday in Aleppo and Idlib, close to the border with Turkey, Reuters reported.
Infighting between rebels is seen as
having strengthened Assad’s hand before the planned peace talks in Geneva on
Jan. 22. Syrian army forces have pushed back rebels around Damascus and in
central Syria. (With Agencies)
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