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Factional infighting escalates in northern Syria

Infighting continues among the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army factions in light of a power and influence struggle, conflict over crossings and smuggling corridors, and the lack of a unified military institution.
A fighter from the Free Syrian Army fires an anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on a vehicle deployed during fighting against the Islamic State near the northern village of Beraan, north of the embattled city of Aleppo, Syria, Oct. 24, 2016.
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ALEPPO, Syria — Clashes and confrontations are taking place almost daily between the armed factions in the areas controlled by the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) in northern Syria. The instability ensuing from the infighting often take place inside cities and towns and between their residential neighborhoods, mainly in the cities of Jarablus, al-Bab, Afrin, Ras al-Ain, Azaz and others, has made their residents fearful.

On April 7, a number of civilians were wounded in the town of Bulbul, in the Afrin district in the northern countryside of Aleppo, as a result of sporadic clashes between a group affiliated with Faylaq al-Sham and another group affiliated with the Hamza Division, both FSA-affiliated. 

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