‘Moderate Rebels’ Find Gap in Syra Ceasefire Plan: It Allows to Fight Al Nusra

Common “moderate rebels”

On Feb.22, the US and Russia have adopted “Terms for a Cessation of Hostilities in Syria” and propose that a ceasefire start on Feb.27. Terror groups, such as ISIS and Al-Nusra, are not part of the truce. Thus, the ceasefire will allow to continue the fight aganist terrorists in Syria

But the “modereate rebels” are concerned about the idea of excluding terrorists from the ceasefire agreement. Let’s check how Reuters describes this:

“For us, al-Nusra is a problematic point, because al-Nusra is not only present in Idlib, but also in Aleppo, in Damascus and in the south. The critical issue here is that civilians or the Free Syrian Army could be targeted under the pretext of targeting al-Nusra,” said a senior opposition figure, Khaled Khoja.

or this:

Bashar al-Zoubi, head of the political office of the Yarmouk Army, part of the rebel Free Syrian Army, said that would provide cover for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian allies to keep attacking opposition-held territory where rebel and militant factions are tightly packed.

“Russia and the regime will target the areas of the revolutionaries on the pretext of the Nusra Front’s presence, and you know how mixed those areas are, and if this happens, the truce will collapse,” he said.

In other words, the “moderate opposition” groups’ positions are located near or even mixed with Al Nusra Front’s positions. Thus, the “moderate opposition” and Al Nusra Front opposes the Syrian government shoulder to shoulder, make alliances and share territory. There are only 2 points to explain this:

• The “moderate opposition” isn’t so “moderate” which allows it to cooperate with the recognized terrorists and turns it into Nusra-linked organizations not included into the ceasefire deal;
• These “moderate groups” are just rebranded brunches of Al Nusra.