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Ankara Intervenes to Halt FSA Infighting in Syria’s al-Bab | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Fighters from the Free Syrian Army ride armoured pick up trucks during battles against ISIS militants near the town of Qabasin. (AFP)


Beirut – The clashes that erupted between the Free Syrian Army’s Euphrates Shield unit and other factions in the Syrian city of al-Bab and others regions in the northeastern Aleppo countryside have come to a halt.

Ankara had reportedly intervened to stop the infighting that has left scored dead and injured.

The “Dorar al-Sham” network reported informed sources as saying that Turkey had intervened on Sunday night in order to stop the fighting between the “al-Hamza Brigade” and “al-Sultan Murad” factions on the one side and the “First Regiment” and “Ahrar al-Sham” on the other.

The network reported that clashes erupted when “al-Hamza Brigade” and “al-Sultan Murad” attacked “First Regiment” and “Ahrar al-Sham” positions near al-Bab north of Aleppo. Ten fighters from both sides of the attack were killed in the clashes.

The “Ahrar al-Sham” movement issued a statement saying that fighting broke out between the so-called al-Bab military council and first regiment rebels. The movement then intervened to stop the unrest, but they were instead attacked in what was seen as a plan to uproot “Ahrar al-Sham”.

It said that its positions in Abla, Awlan and Qabasin were attacked by the “al-Hamza Brigade” and “Sultan Murad” factions. The movement also accused these two Turkish-backed groups of shelling their positions in Awlan near al-Bab, resulting in many injuries among its members.

Military sources told the “Ahrar al-Sham” network that there was a plot to remove the movement from areas that have been recently liberated from ISIS.

The al-Bab city coordination authority also reported on the infighting among the Free Syrian Army factions, urging calm and restraint. It also demanded the formation of a judicial body that can investigate the claims and accusation made by both sides of the fighting.

It stressed the need for the voice of “reason to prevail over the fighting that creates divisions in society and depletes the revolution.”