Residents of the Syrian town of Taibet al-Emam in western Syria revolted against the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra militant group occupying their community on April 5th, killing and wounding more than 50 rebels, according to SANA radio. It seems that the popular uprising was the result of rebels reportedly committing acts of kidnapping and burglary. The civilian rebellion may have spread to another al Qaeda occupied town named Muhardeh, in the same province of Hama. SANA said that rebels were now firing mortar shells at the town injuring many people and causing huge property losses. Infighting among jihadists groups in Syria has allowed the Syrian government to cut rebel supply lines to the Lebanon and making territorial advances. But any time local town people conduct one of the worst slaughters of al Qaeda rebel forces in the Syrian Civil War that will always be important news.
As we reported earlier this week in “NEW COLD WAR WITH RUSSIA HEATING UP IN SYRIA,” the Obama Administration appears to be funding al Qaeda linked Islamic Front and Jabhat al-Nusra offensive in Syria as in addition to the President’s March 20th announcment of financial sanctions against Russia. The jihadist rebels’ offensive, known as “The Martyrs Mothers,” had captured the three area border crossings into Turkey and killed Hilal al Assad, Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s cousin and head of the militia known as the National Defense Force. It appeared last week that President Obama and Saudi Arabia were was trying to put pressure on Russia as Syria’s key ally.
According to IHS Jane’s report, nearly half of the 100,000 purported Syrian rebels are Islamists. But the 10,000 al Qaeda fighters are the best and most daring rebel fighters. Charles Lister, author of the analysis, said: “The insurgency is now dominated by groups which have at least an Islamist viewpoint on the conflict. The idea that it is mostly secular groups leading the opposition is just not borne out.”
Jane’s said the study was based on intelligence estimates and interviews with activists and militants. The lengthy fighting has seen the emergence of hundreds of separate rebel bands, each operating in small pockets of the country, which are usually loyal to larger factions. Mr Lister added: “Because of the Islamist make up of such a large proportion of the opposition, the fear is that if the West doesn’t play its cards right, it will end up pushing these people away from the people we are backing,” he said. “If the West looks as though it is not interested in removing Assad, moderate Islamists are also likely to be pushed further towards extremists.”
The ongoing Syrian Civil War has taken its toll on both sides with neither President Bashar al Assad’s government (backed by Iran, Russia and Hezbollah) nor the Free Syrian Army (supported by Sunni jihadist groups, Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, and the West) able to secure a decisive victory. Jihadists foreign fighters flocked to Syria to fight the secular government of al Assad, bringing skills, resources and expertise associated with terror networks and western back Arab Spring successes.
According to Stratfor Global Intelligence, “Russia’s decision to arbitrate the removal of Syria’s chemical arsenal, combined with the presence of terror groups in the rebellion, effectively removed any remaining inclination for Western intervention. Ironically, the West’s willingness to work with al Assad over the issue of chemical weapons gave the regime an implied international legitimacy.”
With the government forces having cut off all supply lines from Lebanon, it appears that the Al Qaeda foreign fighters have now turned to crime and mayhem to finance their world-wide cause of killing every single person who disagrees with their rise to power. The Al Qaeda forces had been very effective by engaging in surprise attacks to inflict maximum casualties and slink away. Whatever they did to the civilian towns’ people in Taibet al-Emam and Muhardeh must have been brutal, because Al Qaeda just suffered one of their biggest single day losses of the Syrian Civil War.
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