SyriaWest AsiaWorld News

Syrians hold rally against foreign-backed militants

download

People have taken to the streets in militant-held areas in northern Syria to protest against the foreign-backed militants operating inside the country.

During the Friday protest, the demonstrators chanted slogans against the terrorist groups including the al-Qaeda-affiliated so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

AFP news agency cited Ammar, an activist on the ground, as describing the protests as “the start of the revolution against ISIL,” which operates in Iraq and Syria.

The protests came as infighting intensified among the foreign-backed militants in different parts of Syria.

Reports say militants of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) pushed their fellow pro-al-Qaeda militants out of an area of the northern city of Aleppo on Friday.

Fierce clashes were also reported between FSA and ISIL militants in several areas in the northwestern city of Idlib.

The clashes in the two nearby cities left 16 pro-al-Qaeda militants dead.

Reports say ISIL militants have been forced to withdraw from those regions.

FSA militants also killed a leader of the terrorist Nusrah Front near the city of Deir ez-Zor in the east of the country.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, Western powers and their regional allies – especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey – are supporting the militants operating inside the country.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the turmoil that has gripped Syria for almost three years.

Back to top button