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Emboldened by the vast reduction in fighting brought about by Syria's month-old ceasefire, civilians in dozens of rebel-held areas have taken to the now somewhat safer streets to demand democracy. On March 11, crowds assembled in Maarat al-Numaan, a town in northwestern Idlib province, for the second week running, brandishing the three-starred revolutionary flag of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and chanting for the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
They were quickly met with an angry response. But instead of pro-government forces, the objection came from local al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, which dispatched a mob of militants on motorbikes to disrupt the protest. The new arrivals attempted to drown out revolutionary slogans with shouts of Allahu Akbar ("God is the greatest") and when that failed, turned on the protesters themselves.
The clashes, which led to more defiant counterdemonstrations, were an illustration of how seriously tensions have risen between the Western-backed secular FSA and the hardline religious group Jabhat al-Nusra — tensions which could evolve into broader hostilities, representatives from both Nusra and the FSA told VICE News.
full: https://news.vice.com/article/syrian-ceasefire-sees-popular-backlash-against-al-qaeda
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