Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam), one of the largest opposition factions in Syria, announced on Saturday its decision to dissolve itself in an attempt to end the crisis in the Eastern Ghouta between the fighting opposition factions.
"We declare our agreement to the initiative launched by the Military Council in Damascus and its countryside led by Col. Ammar al-Nimr on 5/7/2017 to end the crisis in the Eastern Ghouta," Jaysh al-Islam said in a statement.
It added: “We declare our readiness to cooperate fully in order to make the initiative a success.”
The Military Council made the initiative in an attempt to save the Eastern Ghouta in the countryside of Damascus, which is witnessing continued infighting between the factions on the one hand, and a severe attack by Assad regime forces and its allies on the other.
The initiative calls for the dissolution of all military formations in the Eastern Ghouta and the abolition of their names, who are then to join a single military formation under one command, which will form the nucleus of a unified Syrian national army.
The initiative also provides for the dissolution of all civil, political and service institutions in the Eastern Ghouta into one body, with the participation of all. This will include the restructuring of the judiciary and police, and the Shariah Commission.
The Military Council had set a weeklong deadline to respond to its initiative, which ended on Friday.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
