Syrian fighters defecting: Ahrar al-Sham, once hailed as one of the more moderate — and potent — military groups on the Syrian battlefield, is disintegrating rapidly and there is nothing its Turkish backers can do to save it, Sami Moubayed writes. Ahrar al-Sham once boasted nearly 20,000 fighters and played an instrumental role in every single rebel victory against government troops during the years 2013-2015. Turning a blind eye to one of its founder’s ties to al-Qaeda and its desire to set up an Islamic state, many in the West pinned high hopes on it, seeing it as a potential player in the future of Syria, especially after its troops joined in the fight against ISIS and agreed to support a political endgame to the Syrian conflict. However, over the past 10 days, massive defections have been recorded from Ahrar al-Sham. Hundreds are fleeing Ahrar camps and joining Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a rebel coalition headed by Ahrar’s former ally, Jabhat al-Nusra. READ THE STORY HERE
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