ISISSetback to U.S. Syria plan as Islamists evict anti-ISIS militia from stronghold

One of the moderate rebel forces in Syria which the United States views as central to the formation of an effective ground force to fight ISIS is the Syrian Revolutionary Front (SRF). Over the weekend, however, the SRF suffered a major defeat when the al-Qaeda-aligned Jabhat al-Nusra ousted it from its stronghold.

The two groups have been clashing for weeks around the city of Idlib in northern Syria.

The Islamist militants of l-Nusra overran the command center of the SRF’s leader, Jamal Maarouf, in Deir Sonbol in what observers regard as a humiliating rout that came as U.S. and Arab air forces continued to attack ISIS in the Kurdish town of Kobani, 300 miles east of Idlib.

The Guardian reports that the defeat of Maarouf is a serious blow to the U.S. strategy of building a proxy coalition against ISIS. The defeat of Maarouf’s militia comes at a time of growing anger among non-Islamist anti-Assad rebels, who bitterly complain that the U.S. airstrikes across the opposition-held northern Syria have done nothing to slow the intensity of attacks from Bashar al-Assad’s air force against the moderate rebels, especially in Aleppo.

“We thought the Americans were going to help us,” said an SRF spokesman. “But not only have they abandoned us, they have been helping the tyrant Bashar instead. We will move past this betrayal and get back to Jebel al-Zawiya [the group’s heartland], but it is going to take some time.”

The airstrikes on targets in Syria have now assumed a distinct pattern. As the United States, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE continue to attack ISIS targets, the Syrian air force has intensified its attacks on moderate Syrian rebels across the country. Analysts note the sharp increase of the use of barrel bombs by the Syrian military. Barrel bombs are large, improvised explosives pushed from the back of helicopters to cause indiscriminate destruction.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that in the past fortnight alone, at least 401 barrel bombs have been dropped on rebel areas across eight Syrian provinces. The attacks have reportedly killed more than 200 civilians and an unknown number of fighters.

Reports have emerged that the U.S. defense secretary, Chuck Hagel, had warned national security adviser Susan Rice of a blowback among opposition communities in northern Syria because U.S. strategy against Assad has not been made clear.

Turkey has been advocating the establishment of a no-fly zone over parts of northern Syria in order to protect the civilian population – and anti-Assad rebels – from the regime’s air attacks. Th establishment of a no-fly zone, however, would require a UN Security Council approval, which is not likely since Russia and China are strong supporters of the Assad regime.

Maarouf’s militia, estimated to comprise about 30,000 men, has been one of the few beneficiaries of limited U.S. military supplies to the Syrian opposition. Saudi Arabia also started to send weapons to Maarouf’s fighters in January 2013.

The Guardian reports that increasingly desperate calls for help from Marouf and his forces had gone unanswered since Friday, and by early Saturday the SRF forces were forced to withdraw from Idlib.

Jabhat al-Nusra used to be the leading Islamist force in Syria, but last April was overtaken by ISIS. Al-Nusra is more moderate than ISIS, and had joined forces with the SRF – and with a second opposition umbrella group, the Islamic Front, which has been backed by Qatar and Turkey – in battles against the Assad regime.

Since 8 August, when a U.S. air strike killed about fifty of its officers, al-Nura has been collaborating with ISIS, and members of both organizations had joined in the battle for Maarouf’s village.