Ahrar al-Sham, Suqour al-Sham merge in one rebel group

Syria’s key Islamist groups of Ahrar al-Sham has merged with Suqour al-Sham in one rebel group on Sunday, the leaders said in video statement posted online.

‘Battalions of Suqour al-Sham’ to be the name of the newly-born Islamic faction, Hashem al-Sheikh (Abu Jaber), leader of Ahrar al-Sham said, assuring that the move is based on the aspirations of the Syrian people, especially since the Syrian revolution interns the fifth year, 4 days since the fourth anniversary.

The new armed group is likely to be the strongest among the opposition factions north of Syria. As well it will pave the way for more mergers, activists say.

A statement said the merger was prompted by a need to unify ranks in what some rebels say will expand Ahrar al-Sham's clout in the northwestern province of Idlib, where its rival Nusra has expanded since recently crushing Western-backed non-jihadist rebel groups.

"This will present a stronger competitor for Nusra in Idlib. With other mergers they could get closer to...equal footing," Abu Malek al Shami, a local rebel commander from Jaish al-Mujahdeen wal Ansar told Reuters on viber.

The two groups, who are active in Aleppo and Idlib provinces,  were part of the Islamic Front, whose formation was announced in November 2013.

A jihadist scholar said, according to Reuters,  the drying up of foreign funding and the impact of the loss of its leaders was prompting a rethink towards mergers with other brigades.

"The regional financing it used to get has weakened and the loss of its leaders has brought this new alignment driven not by ideology but on strengthening its internal structure," said Hassan Abu Haniyah, a prominent Jordanian jihadist scholar, who closely follows radical fundamentalist movements.

On 9 September 2014, a suicide attack on a meeting in the Idlib province killed Hassan Abboud, the leader of Ahrar al-Sham, and 27 other senior commanders, including military field commanders, members of the group's Shura council, and leaders of allied brigades.

Suqour al-Sham brigade was formed in September 2011 under the leadership of Ahmed Abu Issa in the town of Sarjeh in the Jabal al-Zawiya region of Idlib Governorate. The group’s fighters are a mix of military defectors and civilian volunteers.