Qatari FM secretly meets FSA commander in Turkey

Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah has recently taken a secret trip to Turkey to meet the Free Syrian Army (FSA) Commander Salim Idris, informed sources revealed on Monday. "Al-Attiyah’s visit has taken place in line with the efforts made by Qatar to coordinate and unite the Syrian opposition forces, which include armed rebels and terrorist groups," an informed Arab media source, who asked for anonymity, told FNA. "The Qatari foreign minister is trying to resolve the differences between the Free Syrian Army and 13 of its units in the Northwestern city of Aleppo, which have recently defected from the FSA," he added. As differences are widening between the FSA and the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists groups, specially the Al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), more groups and units are defecting from the FSA; some have joined terrorist groups like the ISIL and the Al-Nusra Front, and some others are operating on their own. After more than two years of fighting side-by-side and leading one of the bloodiest conflicts in the recent history of Middle-East, FSA and al-Qaeda affiliated groups have been making some moves against each other following reports of West’s alleged concerns over sending more arms to Syria and possibility of them falling into the hands of terrorists. Analysts say West’s pressures for opening a way to send arms to militants in Syria and not the terrorists is actually differentiating the anti-Syria armed groups to “good terrorists” and “bad terrorists”. Militants in Syria have been committing numerous war crimes against people and Syrian army soldiers throughout the country during their bloody war. On Friday, sources said the number of antigovernment combat factions has reached 1750, including the FSA, "State of Iraq and Levant", and other groups working for different agendas. However, the most prominent differences lie between the FSA and the "State of Sham and Iraq", where media sources reported that the latter killed Abu Obeida Al-Binshi, one of the FSA commanders, the Islam Times reported. "The assassination took place after the "State of Iraq and Levant" had taken a number of Malaysians, Syrians and Turks relief workers as hostages," the sources said. "Following the abduction, a number of the FSA brigades moved in an attempt to release prisoners, which led to clashes between the two opposition groups, and left Abu Obeida Al-Binshi killed," they elaborated further. Earlier, a media source in the FSA described the "State of Iraq and Levant" as the movement which turned into a cruel rebel group. "This organization kills all dissidents without exception, chasing and assassinating them in the areas of Ghouta and Damascus western countryside," the media source said. Such incidents were being repeated in Syria during the recent period, signaling a growing tension between the militant groups active under the FSA and the so-called 'Jihadi' groups, mainly composed of non-Syrian militants. For its part, the opposing UK-based Syrian Observatory said that Al-Qaeda-affiliated "State of Iraq and Levant" had beheaded another battalion commander in the province of Idlib, Northwest Syria, in the wake of a battle erupted between the Syrian army and militants of other battalions in the town of Dana, in which dozens were killed. Recently, the city of Raqqa in Northern Syria has witnessed protests, sit-ins and demonstrations against the armed groups deployment as a result of arrests carried out. Moreover, the killing of a 14-year boy at the hands of "State of Iraq and Levant' mercenaries in front of his family in the city of Aleppo after being accused of blasphemy had also provoked widespread protests. In another case of internal clashes among the Syrian militants, Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant and the Greater Syria clashed with members of a group affiliated to the FSA in mid August, driving them out from the city of Raqqa. The fighting took place in Raqqa, where Al-Qaeda fighters overran the FSA’s Ahfad al-Rasoul brigade, capturing the group’s headquarters and forcing its fighters to flee into neighboring Turkey. Militants familiar with the situation said that the fighting over Raqqa had been going on off and on for months, but picked up in early August. Raqqa has been the site of multiple protests, with locals angry that they are being occupied by foreign factions, and that those factions are constantly at odds. FSA members are not welcomed in many parts of Syria after they gathered in terrorists from several other countries to bring down the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to local reports, antigovernment forces have turned to be referred as anti-Syria forces among people. Fighting between Al-Qaeda-linked fighters and the Ahfad al-Rasoul brigade for control of Raqqa intensified in the second week of August. The battle culminated with the extremist group detonating a car bomb early August 14 at the city’s main train station, killing Rasoul commanders Abu Mazen and Fahd Hussein al-Kajwan. The Al-Qaeda-linked rebels clashed with Rasoul armed men at the brigade’s headquarters, which they eventually overran, with most of the group withdrawing to Turkey on the same day (August 14). Free Syrian Army leaders have acknowledged that the fighting between their brigades and extremists rivals has reached a critical stage. The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when sporadic pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states. The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle-East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history. As the foreign-backed insurgency in Syria continues without an end in sight, the US government has boosted its political and military support to Takfiri extremists. Washington has remained indifferent to warnings by Russia and other world powers about the consequences of arming militant groups.