Activists: Nearly 700 Dead In Syrian Rebel Clashes
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 Sunday.
The fighting, which pits the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant against several Islamist and more moderate rebel brigades, has added yet another layer of complexity to Syria's nearly 3-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 across seven provinces since the rebel infighting began Jan. 3. The toll includes 351 fighters from the Islamist and mainstream opposition brigades, 246 from the "Islamic State," and 100 civilians.
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 that aims to broker 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.
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