Syrian chemical weapons transfer begins

LEGAL COUNCIL

Golani proposed forming an Islamic legal council to resolve feuds among the rebels and called for the militants to return to their shared goal of fighting Assad's forces, as the campaign to oust the Syrian leader nears the end of its third year.

It was not possible to verify the audio statement, but it was posted on a Twitter account used by the Nusra Front.

"This unfortunate situation has pushed us to launch an initiative to save the battlefields from being lost. This will be done by forming an independent legal council by all the (rebel) factions in addition to a ceasefire," Golani said.

Rebel groups, many of them also hardline Islamists, last week launched what appeared to be a series of coordinated strikes against ISIL in northern and eastern Syria after months of increasing tensions with the group, which has alienated many Syrians in rebel-held regions.

In one northwestern region of Syria alone, other rebel groups appear to have killed 34 foreign fighters from ISIL, the Observatory said.

Fighting reignited between ISIL and other groups on Tuesday, the Observatory said. Fifteen died in the town of Rastan, north of the central city of Homs, and in Aleppo rebels took control of a police station where about 100 ISIL fighters had been based. The ISIL fighters surrendered themselves and their weapons to the Nusra Front, it said.

Golani urged rebels not to become divided between foreign and local fighters, arguing that all were needed to launch jihad, or holy war, in the country.

The campaign to topple Assad has degenerated into a civil war with several sectarian and ethnic struggles emerging, as well as the internecine fighting now plaguing the rebels.

Golani urged rebels to exchange prisoners and open roads to all opposition units.

TALKS DECISION DELAYED

Syria's Western-backed opposition in exile postponed until next week a decision on whether to attend talks with Assad's government aimed at ending the conflict, opposition members said on Tuesday.

The National Coalition is facing heavy pressure from Western powers to attend the January 22 talks in Switzerland, seen as the most serious effort yet to find a political solution to the civil war.

It has said it is ready to attend the talks in principle, but says they must lead to Assad's departure - a demand which Damascus has flatly rejected - and has repeatedly stalled on its final decision.

The latest delay came after at least a quarter of the coalition called for its newly re-elected president Ahmad al-Jarba to stand down at a meeting in Turkey and threatened to resign if their demand was not met, sources at the meeting said.