BEIRUT: Rebels fighting in southern Syria will not cooperate militarily with Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, Al-Nusra Front, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Essam al-Rayes' comments come after tensions between local rebel groups and Nusra Front over the capture of a border crossing between Syria and Jordan.
"We reject all forms of cooperation with Nusra Front because keeping silent on its excesses, its statements and its violations will only allow them to continue," Rayes told AFP.
Speaking via Skype, he said the groups fighting under the Southern Front banner hoped their position would "tell Syrians that Nusra's ties with Al-Qaeda push the revolution away from its path and objectives."
"We do not want Syria to become a base for jihad, or the expansion of the Islamic State (ISIS)," he added.
The comments came after several similar individual statements from battalions fighting in southern Syria.