Syrian rebel factions fought each other in besieged
eastern Aleppo on Thursday, officials from two of the groups and a
war monitor said, potentially undermining their efforts to fend off
a major Russian-backed offensive.
Rebel groups have been plagued by disunity and infighting
throughout the 5 1/2-year-old conflict, for ideological reasons,
over tactical differences or in disputes over territory.
Fighters of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, Nour al-Din al-Zinki and Abu
Amara attempted to seize positions and weapons from Fastaqim, one
of its officials said. Fateh al-Sham is a jihadist group. Zinki and
Fastaqim fight under the Free Syrian Army (FSA) banner.
An official from the Zinki group's politburo said the clashes
had finished and there were efforts under way to resolve their
dispute.
The clashes took place in the al-Ansari district and the
neighboring Salah al-Din district, both of which are close to the
front line with government-held areas, said the Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.
The Observatory said the Islamist groups had succeeded in taking
most positions and weapons from Fastaqim and detaining its
fighters, but the group's official said its situation was not so
bad.
Both Islamist and FSA groups are taking part in an offensive
against government-held western Aleppo that began last week, which
is partly aimed at breaking the siege on the rebel-held east but
has made little progress after some initial gains.
Syria's army, backed by Shi'ite militias and Russia's air force,
succeeded this summer in surrounding eastern districts of Aleppo,
besieging the Sunni rebel groups who seek to overthrow President
Bashar al-Assad as well as around 250,000 civilians.
The army and Russia on Wednesday told rebels they should leave
eastern Aleppo by Friday evening, signaling their temporary halt on
air strikes in the city, which began on Oct 18, would extend until
then.
Damascus has told rebels and residents of eastern Aleppo that
they can have safe passage out of the city, either to other areas
held by the opposition or to resettle in government areas, but
rebels have rejected that and few people have left.
Rebel groups detonated two large car bombs near pro-government
forces on the western edge of Aleppo, the Observatory said, as they
tried to revitalize an offensive which has made little progress
since taking most of Dahiyet al-Assad suburb on Friday.
There were clashes between rebel groups and pro-government
forces around Dahiyet al-Assad and near the 1070 Apartment Blocks,
a district in southwest Aleppo that has been the scene of continued
fighting since the summer.
Zinki, which has received foreign support funneled through
Turkey, recently joined a joint operations room run by an alliance
of Islamist factions known as Jaish al-Fateh. It includes factions
like Fateh al-Sham, formerly loyal to al Qaeda and known as the
Nusra Front.