A Western-backed rebel group in northern Syria that is under pressure from Al Qaeda's hardline Nusra Front has joined an alliance of mainly Islamist insurgent factions in Aleppo, a group monitoring the conflict said today.
The Western-backed Hazzm movement joined the Levant Front - Jabhat al-Shamiyya - a grouping of insurgent factions formed in December in the northern province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, citing a statement from the alliance.
"Hazzm is under pressure because before they refused to join Jabhat al-Shamiyya and now they accept this," said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Britain-based Observatory, which tracks Syria's war using a network of sources on the ground.
The alliance includes Islamic Front, an Islamist coalition which includes Saudi-backed combatants and other factions.
Hazzm is one of the last remnants of non-jihadist opposition to Assad in northern Syria. It has been under attack from Al Qaeda's Syria wing Nusra Front in both the Aleppo and Idlib provinces.
Hazzm has received what it describes as small amounts of military aid from foreign states opposed to Assad, including US-made anti-tank missiles.
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