Hopes for progress in the Astana peace talks may be fading, as one of the main rebel factions participating in the negotiations, the Free Syrian Army’s Jaish al-Mujahideen faction, has reportedly been totally destroyed by al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front over the past 24 hours.
Jaish al-Mujahideen, a merger of several “moderate Islamist” factions intended to fight ISIS, was among the Turkey-backed rebels participating in the Astana talks, which led Nusra Front to accuse them of a “conspiracy” against them, since Nusra was not invited to the talks.
Nusra attacked them late Tuesday, vowing to end the conspiracy by force, and FSA officials now say the group has been totally overrun and essentially no longer exists on the ground in Syria’s Idlib Province, which has long been dominated by the Nusra Front.
Evacuation deals have led to a substantial number of rebel groups being relocated into Idlib, reflecting how many have/had working relationships with the al-Qaeda affiliate. It seems, however, those relationships are tenuous at best, and that Nusra feels itself perfectly entitled to wipe out rebel factions it believes are too engaged in the peace process.
Al-Nusra still feels entitled, and now is just finding an excuse to wipe out the weakest of the two large groups. Others are just small Salafi groups that chose to be relocated to the relative safety under Al-Nusra. The other group is Ahrar Al-Sham. It is not a coincidence that Obama in his last days did two bombing runs: ane against jailed FSA by hitting Nusra jail, and another at Ahrar Al-Sham camp. Excuse was. –they thought it was Al-Zinka, Nusra affiliate that trained there. The explanation was too elaborate –the one about protesting too much.
Al-Nusra has now taken all of their arms and supplies. And cut off internet to the whole area. Who is supporting them? We know that following the fall of Aleppo six foreign advisers were there. For now — we know that UK has a hand in it. The White Helmet project, the Observatory of Human Rights, various books and articles from places like Oxford , and others portraying everything from Syria history to the contemporsry acfairs to evoke the desired conclusions. But this may be on the superficial level. Probably on the larger plane — the issue is the legitimacy of sovergnity and the duties of state towards population under circumstances of armed rebellion.
It is hard to see what is Al-Nusra trying to achieve. Unless it is to blackmail Ahrar Al-Sham to stay loyal.
Today, the armed opposition groups are in Moscow for talks. Al-Nusra may not like this as well.
Why would not Al NMusra feel entitled did not we bomb for them in Libya .
Jason which groups are in FSA? JFS, Ahrar al Sham and J al Islam (Around Damascus) and Jaish al Mujahideen probably constitute 70-80 – 90 % of the ‘rebels’. All of them are islamic radicals that want to install sharia law and have been mostly alligned during the Syrian war. So which groups are in the FSA that matter at this point? I am not even asking about ‘moderate rebels’ because such likely do not exist. Are you referring to the FSA by the political reps that are located in Turkey, UK?
That the same question the Russians asked .
Isn’t this standard practice in all Muslim armies kill off your moderates to make them more loyal to the fundamentalist killers .In the war to free Kosovo. The Muslims themselves killed most of their fellow Muslims before NATO started bombing the Serbs because to many Muslims were dying The United States were supported the AlQaeda and KLA terrorists in this war like they have been supporting the wrong again in Syria too .
Milosevic now found innocent of any war crimes.
No mass graves, no ethnically cleansed other than 700,000 innocent Serbs.
The axis of evil (NATO/UK/USA) destroyed Yugoslavia on lies worthy of Goebbels.
Handed Kosovo to islamic terrorists now aligned – and sending thousands to ISIS they have created a narco/criminal/terrorist islamic state in the ‘underbelly’ of Europe.
https://www.rt.com/op-edge/356846-provoking-nuclear-war-media/
Al Nusra was not invited because it’s a terrorist organisation recognised as such even by America. And if invited it would not have gone.
Trumpster needs to come straight out, and back Assad, and clear our filthy double dealing name. We need to dump Israel as well.