Colonel Abdul Jabar Ukaidi, the commander of the Revolutionary Military Council in rebel-held areas in Aleppo, has resigned in response to the latest gains by Assad army, as factional disputes between rebel groups worsen.
Ukaidi, who joined the Free Syrian Army after defecting from the Syrian army in early 2012, appeared in footage posted on the Internet addressing the Syrian opposition saying "stay in your hotels."
The disappointed colonel has accused both the western-backed opposition and the international community of trading on Syrians' fate and contributing to their bloodshed.
Rebel concerns are mounting of an imminent government siege in areas of Aleppo after the fall of the startegic towns of Sfeira and Azyziya to the Assad army, according to Zaman al-Wasl sources.
The towns lie on a road the army would like to use to send in medical and military reinforcements to government-controlled areas of Aleppo, which has been mired in a bloody stalemate for over a year. It is also the site of a chemical weapons installation under government control, but which has been cleared of equipment.
Translated and edited by the Syrian Observer
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