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Blood bath - Activists claim nearly 700 dead in Syrian rebel clashes

Published:Monday | January 13, 2014 | 12:00 AM
In this photo taken Friday, January 10, 2014, mourners pray over coffins draped with Iraqi flags for four Shiite fighters during the funeral procession inside the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq. Four Shiite fighters were killed in the countryside of Damascus, Syria, three days ago when they were fighting with the Syrian army against Syrian opposition, their comrades said. - AP

BEIRUT (AP):

Rebel-on-rebel clashes have killed nearly 700 people over the past nine days in northern Syria in the worst bout of infighting among the opponents of President Bashar Assad since the country's civil war began, activists said yesterday.

The fighting between the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and several Islamist and more moderate rebel brigades, has broken out in cities, towns and villages of at least four opposition-held provinces in the north.

It has added yet another layer of complexity to Syria's nearly three-year conflict, while also overshadowing the broader battle against the government over the past week.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group said Sunday that at least 697 people have been killed since the rebel infighting began January 3. The toll includes 351 fighters from the Islamist and mainstream opposition brigades, 246 from the "Islamic State" and 100 civilians.

takeover

The "Islamic State" muscled its way into opposition-held territory in northern Syria last spring, co-opting some weaker rebel brigades and crushing others. Initially welcomed by some residents for bringing a measure of order, the extremist group over time alienated many other rebel factions and large chunks of the civilian population by using brutal tactics to implement its strict interpretation of Islamic law. It has also kidnapped and killed its opponents.

The rebel infighting comes less than two weeks ahead of a planned international conference in Switzerland aimed at brokering a political solution to the Syrian civil war.

But the prospects for success at the peace talks appear slim at best, and it remains unclear whether they will indeed take place.

Assad has said he will not hand over power, while the Western-backed opposition in exile, known as the Syrian National Coalition, is in disarray, and not yet decided whether it will attend the gathering. Even if it does, it is in no position to wrest concessions from Assad, whose forces have seized the momentum in recent months.