(Zaman Alwasl)- Opposition activists warn of further rifts between rebels ranks in the northern province of Aleppo as regime troops have been making rapid advances since last week.
Aleppo’s activists have organized a campaign to mobilize efforts and powers within key rebel groups of the embattled city, calling for an end of ‘conflict of interests’, according to statement.
‘Volcano of Aleppo’ campaign comes to surface as al Nusra Front, al-Qaeda group in Syria, is preparing to leave its checkpoints and barracks in Aleppo city, a day after its withdrawal from Aleppo's Sharia Authority.
NF has called for an urgent meeting on Thursday with key rebel groups in the northern city to discuss recent escalations as well as to find a substitute for its fighters who are leaving their checkpoints.
Meanwhile, regime forces have taken strategic ground around Aleppo this week, residents and state media said on Wednesday, squeezing the main rebel supply line into the city after months of battlefield gains by Damascus, Reuters reported.
Journalist
Dhirar Khatab, one of the campaign organizers, raised concerns of a similar
scenario for what happened in Qusayr and Homs if the discords would continue, said to Zaman Alwasl.
The government advance, after close to two years of stalemate, was bolstered by fighters from the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah, an ally of Bashar al-Assad, according to Reuters.
Rebels pushed into Aleppo, once Syria's commercial hub, in 2012 from the north and took districts in the heart of the city. Since then, the army has held the west and south of Aleppo but has been unable to dislodge opposition fighters.
The advance follows months of incremental gains by pro-government forces. Assad has demonstrated a tenacious hold on power after three years of brutal civil war and is due to be sworn in for a new term on July 17.
In relevant development, Hadi al-Bahra, the new elected president of National Coalition, will start his political tour form Saudi, key opposition ally, in reference to the influential role the gulf country can play in the Syrian conflict, according to the source.
The former chief of opposition negotiators in Geneva talks is expected to endorse Coalition’s role as well to heal the rifts sparked by former president Ahmed Jarba, analysts say.
Syria's conflict, now in its fourth year, has killed at least 171,000 people, according to activists, and forced nearly 3 million to flee the country.
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