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Southern Front Hopes to Form Rebel Alliance

Rebels in southern Syria are hoping to forge new powerful alliance to maintain recent gains in Daraa province
Southern Front Hopes to Form Rebel Alliance

Rebels of Syria's Southern Front are likely to form a new powerful alliance similar to the Fatah Army in Idleb city, in order to maintain gains the group recently made in Daraa province, sources told Zaman al-Wasl.

The Islamist rebels, who seized the historic town of Bosra two weeks ago, making strategic gains by controlling most of the border with Jordan, are seeking to unify their command as a military umbrella for all rebel factions, including Al-Qaeda's Syrian wing, the Nusra Front, together with moderate rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

The Fatah Army is an alliance of Islamist rebels in the north of Syria who recently captured the city of Idleb for the first time since the revolution erupted in March 2011, inflicting humiliating defeats on Assad forces and its allied militias.

Rebels active in Bosra met on the theater of the ancient town on Tuesday, issuing a statement urging for unity and solidarity.

Syria's southwestern corner is of strategic importance due to its proximity to Damascus and neighboring states Israel and Jordan. It is also the last significant foothold of mainstream rebels, who have mostly been crushed elsewhere in Syria by government forces or jihadist groups.

The mainstream rebels, known as the “Southern Front", claim to have received more military support from Assad's foreign foes since the start of the advance, spearheaded by the Syrian army and allied militias, including Lebanese Hezbollah.

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