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Syria crisis: al-Qaida fighters revealing their true colours, rebels say
Source: The Guardian
Syria crisis: al-Qaida fighters revealing their true colours, rebels say
A schism is developing in northern Syria between jihadists and
Free Syrian Army units, which threatens to pitch both groups
against each other and open a new phase in the Syrian civil war
Martin Chulov in Aleppo
The Guardian, Thursday 17 January 2013 16.27 GMT
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
The group he called al-Qaida is known locally as Jabhat al-Nusra. Before the siege of Aleppo started mid-July, the group was unknown in the city and had been only a fleeting presence in the rebellious countryside.
Now though, almost six months later, inspired by the Bin Laden world view of a global jihad to enforce a fundamental Islamic society, al-Nusra is very much competing for influence in the Syria that will take shape if and when the embattled regime falls.
Through a growing role on the battlefield and a rising reputation as an organisation that can get things done, al-Nusra has become a player in the power vacuum that has emerged from the civil war. It is also increasingly known as an enforcer, whose unbending demands are unsettling regular rebel units as well as the societies the group claims to protect.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
A schism is developing in northern Syria between jihadists and
Free Syrian Army units, which threatens to pitch both groups
against each other and open a new phase in the Syrian civil war
Martin Chulov in Aleppo
The Guardian, Thursday 17 January 2013 16.27 GMT
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
The group he called al-Qaida is known locally as Jabhat al-Nusra. Before the siege of Aleppo started mid-July, the group was unknown in the city and had been only a fleeting presence in the rebellious countryside.
Now though, almost six months later, inspired by the Bin Laden world view of a global jihad to enforce a fundamental Islamic society, al-Nusra is very much competing for influence in the Syria that will take shape if and when the embattled regime falls.
Through a growing role on the battlefield and a rising reputation as an organisation that can get things done, al-Nusra has become a player in the power vacuum that has emerged from the civil war. It is also increasingly known as an enforcer, whose unbending demands are unsettling regular rebel units as well as the societies the group claims to protect.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/17/syria-crisis-alqaida-fighters-true-colours
