The Assad regime said it would participate in the Jan. 22 peace talks in Geneva but would not “hand over power.” The head of the Free Syrian Army said it was not the right time for peace talks and asked for more arms and ammunition. The Chechen-led Emigrants’ Army swore allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. ISIS, the Al Nusrah Front, and Islamic battalions clashed with regime forces in Aleppo. ISIS executed a rebel battalion leader for “apostasy” and six other fighters in Aleppo,and Al Nusrah executed two soldiers and three alleged regime “collaborators” in Damascus. Kurdish YPG forces took over several towns in Hasakah and clashed with ISIS and Al Nusrah in al-Tweina town, where the two al Qaeda branches have a base. Islamist rebels killed an NDF commander who lived in Tartous province. Al Nusrah released video of recent operations in al-Rashidiya in Deir Izzour, claiming to have killed over 250 regime forces.
