The so-called breakup comes less than two weeks after Secretary of State John Kerry said that the USA and Russian Federation had agreed to cooperate in Syria against al Nusra.
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Jabhat al Nusra, the Nusra Front, announced today that it was establishing its own jihadist organization and would no longer be under the al-Qaeda jihadist umbrella.
But at first, al-Nusra was careful not to put off potential supporters by admitting openly to its links with al-Qaeda.
Reacting to Jolani’s declaration, Farah al-Atassi, a spokeswoman for the High Negotiations Committee, the Syrian opposition’s main negotiating bloc, said that it was “very premature” to evaluate the situation and how the announcement would really be implemented on the ground.
The new name will be announced in a televised statement by Nusra Front leader Abu Muhammad Julani, who will reveal his face on camera for the first time. Observers with sources in Syria said his real name was Ahmad Hussein al-Shar’a, born in 1984 in Daraa, southern Syria.
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, a research fellow at USA think tank Middle East Forum, said a formal break with al-Qaeda and the possible formation of a new coalition of fighters with al-Qaeda’s blessing “arguably represents the worst outcome from the United States perspective”.
Well, that’s certainly what the headlines reported, but Nusra’s leader never explicitly said he’s breaking ties with Al-Qaeda. Jabhat al-Nusra aims to epitomize the realization of al-Qaida’s evolved thinking.
After that declaration, IS pushed Al-Nusra out of its base in eastern Syria’s oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor.
In 2012, the State Department added al Nusra Front to the list of aliases for al Qaeda in Iraq, which had already been designated a foreign terrorist organization. The split from al-Qaeda could further complicate the situation.
The Cold War-era superpowers are running separate military missions in Syria against their common foe Islamic State, but are on opposite sides in the wider civil war, with Moscow supporting Assad, and Washington saying he must step down.
Nusra Front was excluded from February’s cessation of hostilities agreement. “At this stage in the conflict, Nusra seems like less one of many rival factions and more like a dominant umbrella over all the others”.
By leaving al-Qaida, Nusra would be able to ally even more closely with other rebels, proponents of the move within the group say – in turn putting pressure on the USA not to support strikes on its ranks.
For these rebels, the Nusra Front simply isn’t the priority the United States would like it to be.
FILE – Rebels from al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the Nusra Front, wave their brigade flag, as they step on the top of a Syrian air force helicopter at Taftanaz air base, January 11, 2013. Last year, al-Golani repeated his allegiance to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri. Jabhat al Nusra will continue to fight to advance Syrian Salafi-jihadi interests under its new name. Speaking before the confirmation, analysts said such a move could damage the opposition to President Assad.
His message for Syria’s religious minorities, such as the Alawite and Druze sects which tend to support al-Assad, was less reassuring.
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On the political front, the envoy has said he hopes that peace talks aimed at finding a solution to end the Syria war could resume at the end of August.
