Bitter division continues in Syria as several rebel factions merge with al-Sham

The polarization of the long-divided fronts in the six-year-long war in Syria is continuing, as several armed factions decided to merge with the former al-Qaeda affiliate Jabet Fateh al-Sham. 

Days after a number of factions announced they were merging into the strong rebel group Ahrar al-Sham, four Syrian rebel factions merged with Jabet Fateh al-Sham on Jan. 28, thus continuing the polarization of the long-divided fronts in the war in Syria.

The jihadist group Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the al-Nusra Front, and four rebel factions - including the influential Nureddin al-Zinki faction - labelled the new alliance Tahrir al-Sham.

"In view of the plots shaking the Syrian revolution ... we announce the dissolution of all groups mentioned below and their total merger into a new entity named 'Tahrir al-Sham,'" they said in a statement.

The Islamist factions Liwa al-Haq, the Ansar al-Din Front and Jaish al-Sunna also signed the declaration.

The new alliance, whose name means "Liberation of Syria," emerged days after other rebel factions joined the powerful Ahrar al-Sham group.

The six factions joining Ahrar al-Sham include Alwiyat Suqour al-Sham, Kataib Thawar al-Sham, Jaish al-Mujahideen and Tajamo Fastaqim Kama Umirat, along with Jaish al-Islam's Idlib branch and al-Jabha al-Shamiya's west Aleppo branch.

Fateh al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham have for years battled side by side against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in the northern province of Idlib, the last major bastion of the armed opposition.

But the former al-Qaeda affiliate - which is listed as a "terrorist" group by the United Nations and Western governments - has clashed with its erstwhile allies in recent days across Idlib and the...