Rebel Chiefs of Staff have excluded Al-Qaeda affiliates from their expanded list, sources have told Zaman al-Wasl.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) started two days of consultation meetings Monday in Antakya, Turkey, to discuss the expansion of the FSA to include more factions and Islamic brigades under the leadership of General Selim Idriss.
But they excluded the Al-Qaeda linked Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria from the list, sources reported.
The latest development comes as rebel groups become increasingly fractured, with Islamic extremists, including those linked to Al-Qaeda, assuming prominent roles in battle.
The Syrian conflict erupted in March 2011 as a popular uprising against Assad that quickly escalated into civil war. More than 115,000 people have been killed since then and millions of Syrians have been displaced.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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