Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Rebels from Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra Front waving their brigade flag on the top of a captured Syrian air force helicopter in Idlib province, northern Syria (AP Photo/Edlib News Network ENN, File)

Syria: Rebel group demands hostage swap for kidnapped nuns

by Wa'il Isam | Dec 6, 2013 | Middle East

Antakya, Asharq Al-Awsat—A Syrian rebel group calling itself the Ahrar Al-Qalamoun Brigade has claimed to be behind the abduction of 12 Greek Orthodox nuns earlier this week. The Islamist group announced that it is prepared to release the nuns in return for the...

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An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube and provided by the “Islamic Front” on November 22, 2013 allegedly shows rebel fighters announcing the creation of the “Islamic Front”, a merger of six Islamist groups fighting in Syria, at an undisclosed location in Syria. (AFP PHOTO/ISLAMIC FRONT)

Syria: Islamist rebel groups unite

by Wa'il Isam | Nov 23, 2013 | Middle East

Antakya, Asharq Al-Awsat—Following weeks of preparations, seven major Islamist rebel groups fighting against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad in Syria announced a merger on Friday. The new Islamist coalition is set to be called the Islamic Front. A statement posted...

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Member National Coalition Of Syria Suheir Atassi, Head of the Syrian National Coalition, Ahmad al-Jarba, Secretary General National Coalition of Syria Badr Jamous, Member National Coalition Of Syria, Salim Muslit, Leaders of the exiled Syrian National Council (SNC), Muhammet Faruq Tayfur during a Syrian opposition groups meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, 09 November 2013. (EPA/SEDAT SUNA)

Syrian opposition leaders to discuss Geneva II with armed factions

by Wa'il Isam | Nov 14, 2013 | Middle East

Istanbul, Asharq Al-Awsat—The head of the main Syrian opposition coalition said on Wednesday that he was optimistic that rebels inside Syria could be persuaded to accept plans for an international peace conference. The conference, dubbed “Geneva II,” has been...

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A member of the Islamist Syrian opposition group Ahrar al-Sham fires against a position of the Committees for the Protection of the Kurdish People (YPG), a militia set up to protect Kurdish areas in Syria from opposing forces, during clashes in the countryside of the northern Syrian Raqqa province on August 25, 2013. (AFP)

Syria: Ahrar Al-Sham leader threatens to form Islamist rebel command

by Wa'il Isam | Nov 6, 2013 | Middle East

Antakya, Asharq Al-Awsat—The Free Syrian Army (FSA) leadership, led by Gen. Salim Idris, met with senior Islamist rebel commanders in Reyhanli in Turkey on Tuesday, in a last ditch attempt to stave off a major split in the ranks of Syria’s rebels. Syria’s...

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Fighters from the Free Syrian Army man a roadblock north of Aleppo, on June 5 2013 (AAA)

Northern Aleppo’s sectarian strife

by Wa'il Isam | Jun 7, 2013 | Features

Aleppo, Asharq Al-Awsat—In the last few days in the northern Aleppo suburbs, more than 20 people have been killed in clashes between fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on one side and Shi’ite and Kurdish fighters on the other, underlining the growing sectarian...