This seems encouraging: AFP reports on a backlash in rebel-controlled parts of Syria against hardline Islamist fighters.
In the early days of the Syrian uprising, when opponents of the regime were desperate for assistance from any quarter, jihadist fighters were welcomed but a spate of abuses is fueling a backlash.
Things have changed.
“Out, out, out, the [Islamic] State [of Iraq and Syria] must get out,” protesters shouted at a rally in the northern town of Manbij this week, referring to an Al-Qaeda front group.
The video of the demonstration is one of many showing how civilians and mainstream rebel fighters alike are turning against the more hardline Islamist factions.
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Unlike the mainstream rebel Free Syrian Army, which has received weapons from several Gulf Arab governments as well as promises of US arms, the jihadist groups rely on private donations.But there are enough wealthy benefactors attracted to their fundamentalist vision to ensure a steady stream of weapons, as well as volunteer fighters from around the world, many of them seasoned in other conflicts.
That has helped them become a fighting force out of proportion to their numbers, and they have captured several population centers.
But their imposition of their extreme form of Islam has increasingly alienated civilians.
In Raqa, the only provincial capital in rebel hands, the Al-Nusra Front is accused of detaining dozens of men.
“My father has been held for a month by the Front. They think they’re Islamic… I want my father to be free,” weeps a little girl in one Raqa protest, footage of which was posted online.
“We reject this oppressive brand of Islam… We are Muslims. You’re just fakes,” a woman protester cried in another video from Raqa, demanding the release of the men held by Nusra.
Activists in the city also point to the disappearance of Abdallah al-Khalil, a veteran dissident and human rights activist.
“Khalil was about to open up council elections to the whole of Raqa. Al-Nusra was against the idea. He disappeared the next day,” an activist from Raqa told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
“Although their methods differ from the regime’s, they are just as brutal.”
“As they get more powerful militarily, they do whatever it takes to stem the growth of freedom in liberated [rebel-held] areas. They want power, not democracy.”
As good a time as any, then, for the US, the UK and other countries to strengthen the forces resisting both the Assad regime and the jihadists. Why the delay?
Update: Reuters reports:
Syrian rebels said on Friday the assassination of one of their top commanders by al Qaeda-linked militants was tantamount to a declaration of war, opening a new front for the Western-backed fighters struggling against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
