Mainstream Syrian rebels are facing a difficult choice: accept the terms of amnesty set by President Assad, fight against the regime alongside extremist groups, or flee Syria entirely. Photo: Erin Trieb for The Wall Street Journal
Sam Dagher, Wall Street Journal: Moderate Syrian Rebels Torn Between Giving Up, Joining Islamic Extremists
Cornered and weakened, they can accept a settlement with the Assad regime or fight alongside al Qaeda’s Islamist allies
YAYLADAGI, Turkey—Ali Othman is among a shrinking band of Syrian rebels in the mountains across from this border town who face an agonizing choice: accept a settlement with a regime they revile or fight alongside al Qaeda’s Islamist allies.
The Syrian army defector and his fellow fighters say they are weakened and cornered after enduring months of bombardment from Russian forces buttressing President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Peace talks ended last month without progress amid a major escalation in violence in the northern city of Aleppo. On Thursday, a day after the U.S. announced a deal with Russia on a fresh cease-fire in Aleppo, Islamist groups targeted regime-held areas of the city with rocket, mortar and sniper fire, according to Syrian state media and U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“My wife begs me almost each day to leave the mountains,” Mr. Othman, 26 years old, said during a recent visit with his family in Turkey. “She keeps asking me: `Why are you still fighting?’”
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WNU Editor: This says it all ....
.... Mr. Othman says his group’s backers have included the U.S., France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. But it now numbers less than 500 fighters, down from about 2,800 a year ago, he said.
“Many people in my group are either dead or maimed,” said Mr. Othman. “We can’t fight alone,” he added, referring to the need to cooperate with Islamist factions like Nusra even though he and others might dread them.
Down to 500 fighters from 2,800 .... most killed or maimed. And in its wings Al Qaeda is preparing to launch their own Islamic State in Syria .... Al-Qaeda could be preparing to launch own 'Islamic State' in Syria after exploiting world's focus on Isis (The Independent).