Infighting Threatens the Syrian Rebels' Progress

Despite consistent territorial gains, disunity and interfactional strife continue to threaten the wider rebel effort to topple the regime of Bashar al Assad. With the help of accelerated arms shipments from across the Jordanian border, rebel forces have begun to seize and hold towns and villages in the south. Disparate rebel groups in a number of areas have successfully united their efforts, particularly at the governorate level, but the dispute between the al-Farouq Brigade and Jabhat al-Nusra has continued to fester.

Given that al-Farouq and al-Nusra are among the most effective rebel units in the war for Syria, their dispute has far-reaching consequences for the rebel cause. The situation is compounded by the fact that both groups maintain subunits across the country, increasing the chances that infighting in one region could spread to others and undermine the rebel cause as a whole.