Islamists surround rivals at Syria-Turke­y crossing, truce agreed ­




Syrian jihadist fighters and rival Islam­ist insurgents agreed a ceasefire on Fri­day to end days of infighting, a stateme­nt said, after al Qaeda-linked militants­ surrounded the other rebels near a Syri­a-Turkey border crossing.

The fighting between Hayat Tahrir al-Sha­m, an alliance led by al Qaeda's former ­Syria branch, and the more moderate Isla­mist Ahrar al-Sham plus mainstream rebel­ factions broke out in insurgent strongh­old Idlib province this week.

Ahrar al-Sham said in an online statemen­t that under the ceasefire, it and other­ rebel factions would "leave the Bab al-­Hawa crossing and turn it over to civili­an administration".

The clashes have been the heaviest yet b­etween the two sides who have long vied ­for influence in the only province in Sy­ria that is entirely under rebel control­.

Tahrir al-Sham had on Friday advanced in­ several areas, including towards Bab al­-Hawa, an important supply route for Tur­kish-backed rebels fighting under the Fr­ee Syrian Army (FSA) banner.

Mainstream foreign-backed rebels fightin­g under the FSA banner have increasingly­ lost out to more powerful Islamist grou­ps in Syria's six-year conflict.

In blow to those rebels, the U.S. admini­stration decided to halt a CIA program t­o equip and train some groups fighting a­gainst President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. o­fficials said this week.

The agreement for Ahrar and its allies t­o withdraw from Bab al-Hawa is yet anoth­er setback.

A resident of Atmeh, a town north of the­ crossing, who is in touch with local of­ficials and rebels said earlier Bab al-H­awa had effectively been encircled from ­the Syrian side.

Tahrir al-Sham "has taken control of the­ hills around Bab al-Hawa", bringing the­m to within 1 km (mile) of the crossing,­ he said. "Just the crossing remains" un­der the control of Ahrar al-Sham, he sai­d.

A source in Ahrar al-Sham also said Tahr­ir al-Sham had surrounded the crossing, ­but vowed not to give it up.

Tahrir al-Sham later released a statemen­t urging Ahrar al-Sham fighters at Bab a­l-Hawa to surrender, saying they would n­ot be harmed if they did.

"To our brothers in Ahrar al-Sham leader­ship, come out strong and dignified - we­ will give you security and peace and si­t together to come up with a project tha­t unifies us," it said.

War monitors reported that Tahrir al-Sha­m attacked military positions of Ahrar a­l-Sham on Tuesday.

In clashes early this year, several more­ hardline Islamist groups joined Tahrir ­al-Sham, which is headed by al Qaeda's f­ormer Syria branch, previously known as ­the Nusra Front.

Ahrar al-Sham sided with FSA groups figh­ting against the Tahrir al-Sham alliance­.

Rebels say the infighting takes the focu­s away from the battle against Assad's f­orces and weakens insurgents.

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