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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

New Syrian militant alliance vows to step up attacks against army

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AMMAN: The head of a new alliance of Syrian militant factions, including a former affiliate of Al Qaeda, has promised to escalate attacks against the Syrian army and its allies with the goal of toppling President Bashar al Assad.


Hashem al Sheikh, leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham, which was formed last month, also said in his first video speech that the new grouping sought to “liberate” all of Syria’s territory.


Hayat Tahrir al Sham, or Body for the Liberation of the Levant, was created from a merger of Jabhat Fateh al Sham — formerly Al Qaeda’s


Nusra Front — and several other groups.


The alliance has enlisted thousands of fighters who have defected in recent weeks from more moderate Free Syrian Army rebel groups, angered by their leaders’ readiness to engage in a peace process with Assad’s government.


Days before the alliance came into being, heavy fighting erupted in northwestern Syria between Fateh al Sham and more moderate rebel groups, threatening to further weaken the opposition to Assad in its biggest territorial stronghold.


The militants said they had been forced to act preemptively to “thwart conspiracies”, accusing rebels attending peace talks in Kazakhstan of conspiring against them.


Sheikh said the new alliance would form “one entity” to spearhead the military and political work of the anti-Assad forces, saying international peace efforts aimed to “abort the revolution” and reward Assad for his “crimes” against Syrians.


But many smaller rebel groups fearing that the new groups’ growing influence could pose a threat to their existence have turned to protect themselves by merging with the powerful Ahrar al Sham group, a rival of the former Al Qaeda affiliate.


Mounting tensions in several rebel-held areas have spilled over in recent days in skirmishes among hardline groups affiliated to the new alliance and some FSA groups.


FSA groups, alongside militant groups including those operating under the umbrella of the new alliance, however still wage joint battles against the Syrian army despite deep ideological differences and turf wars.


They launched a new military campaign in the coastal province of Latakia, a bastion of Assad against the army. — Reuters


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