US-aided moderate Syrian rebel group disbands

Beirut, March 2 (IANS/EFE) Hazm, a moderate rebel group that has received military aid from the US, has announced its dissolution after recent losses on the ground, according to a statement published on the internet.

In the statement, the Hazm Movement, an offshoot of the Free Syrian Army, explains that the party has disbanded, and its members will join the Levant Front, the primary armed Islamist alliance of Aleppo.

The statement emphasises that the group has made the decision due to "the dominance of the criminal regime" in Syria, especially in Aleppo.

The Hazm Movement was one of the few remaining rebel factions in Syria with no Islamist affinity.

The announcement of the disbandment took place after last week's intense fighting in Aleppo between Hazm and the Nusra Front, an affiliate of the Al Qaeda in Syria, which on Saturday seized a crucial stronghold from the moderate insurgents.

Previously, Hazm had also been expelled from the neighbouring province of Idlib by the Nusra Front.

In a related development, renewed fighting has broken out in the past month around the northern outskirts of Aleppo between opposition and regime forces, the latter trying to make ground around the border and cut insurgent supply routes from Turkey.

The dissolution of the rebel group comes as the UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, visits Damascus in an attempt to bolster his proposal for a ceasefire in Aleppo.

Two weeks ago, the international mediator revealed that the Syrian government had agreed to stop the bombing and artillery fire in Aleppo for a period of six weeks, the commencement of which would be decided shortly in Damascus.

The UN reported on Sunday that De Mistura has decided to send a delegation to Aleppo to prepare the cessation of hostilities.

That delegation will aim to analyse the situation on the ground and ensure that once the truce is officially announced, humanitarian aid entering the city will increase significantly.

--IANS/EFE

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