The leader of Jabhat al Nusra, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, has announced the group’s parting from Al Qaeda after four years of fighting under its wing in Syria.
In a video message showing the al Nusra leader’s face for the first time, al-Julani said the group’s new name would be “Jabhat Fateh al-Sham” (Front for the Conquest of Syria).
He stated that the decision to break away from Al Qaeda was intended to remove and expose the pretext used by western powers, including the US and Russia, to bomb Syria.
Al-Julani also added that the move was a bid for greater unity within the rebel ranks in Syria.
The US responded by saying it saw no reason to change its designation of the group as a terrorist organisation, and added that the announcement could just be a “rebranding exercise”.
Al Qaeda said yesterday that it supported the move.
Its second in command, Ahmed Hassan Abu al-Khayr, said the organisation had instructed “the leadership of the Nusra Front to go ahead with what protects the interests of Islam and Muslims and what protects the jihad in Syria”.
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The message included a brief comment from Al Qaeda’s leader Dr Ayman al-Zawahri, saying: “The brotherhood of Islam is stronger than any organisational links that change and go away.”
In the recording aired by Al-Jazeera’s Arabic news channel, al-Julani thanked the “commanders of Al Qaeda for having understood the need to break ties”.
Al Nusra is one of the most effective rebel factions fighting the Assad regime, and has been the official Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria fighting alongside a number of other rebel factions.
Whilst the group has recruited foreign fighters including Britons, it mainly consists of Syrians, some who have carried out suicide operations against the Assad regime.
The group is believed to have close ties with Qatar in the form of intermediaries, whilst other rebel factions have received weapons and funding from neighbouring Turkey, the Gulf states, and the US.
