The head of a rebel group with links
to Al Qaeda called on Tuesday for a ceasefire between opposition factions who
have clashed for five days in the bloodiest bout of infighting since the revolt
against Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
An audio recording from the leader of
the powerful Jabhat Al Nusra group, who goes by the name Abu Mohammed Al
Golani, also laid much of the blame for the fighting on an Al Qaeda splinter
group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
While both groups have roots in the
global terrorist network and welcome foreign militants, Nusra has co-operated
more with other rebel groups and has largely avoided the power struggles that
Isil has faced since wresting control of many opposition-held areas from other
groups.
More than 274 people have been killed
in the rebel-on-rebel clashes in Syria since they began last Friday, according
to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group.
“This unfortunate situation has
pushed us to launch an initiative to save the battlefields from being lost.
This will be done by forming an independent legal council by all the (rebel)
factions in addition to a ceasefire,” Golani said.
It was impossible to verify the
authenticity of the audio statement, but it was posted on a Twitter account
used by the Nusra Front.
Rebel groups, many of them also
hardline Islamists, last week launched what appeared to be a series of
coordinated strikes against Isil in northern and eastern Syria after months of
increasing tensions with the group, which has alienated many Syrians in
rebel-held regions.
The tension between rebels fighting to overthrow Mr Al Assad is also a problem among the political opposition, which has yet to decide on the composition of the delegation it will send to the peace conference in Switzerland on January 22. (With Agencies)
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