Syrian Rebels Battle Jihadi Groups In Aleppo

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BEIRUT — Western-backed opposition fighters and a faction of al-Qaida-linked rebels turned their guns on each other Saturday in Syria's largest city, battling for control of a key checkpoint in the latest eruption of infighting among the forces trying to topple President Bashar Assad's regime, activists said.

The clashes between rebels affiliated with the Free Syrian Army and fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant underscored the growing phenomenon of rebel-on-rebel violence that has sapped strength from the broader anti-Assad movement. It also underscores the rebels' inability even more than two years into the conflict to unite around a unified command, as well as the deepening rift between more secular opposition fighters and Islamic extremists in the rebel ranks.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday's clashes were focused on the strategic checkpoint in Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr district that serves as the sole gateway between rebel-held eastern districts and the government-controlled areas in the west. Earlier this week, al-Qaida-linked militants seized the checkpoint and closed it for several days, cutting the flow of food supplies to the government-held quarters of the city. That spurred protests by residents suffering from food shortages at the start of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan.

The Observatory said the fighting rattled the neighborhood throughout the morning, but subsided by the afternoon as the al-Qaida-linked rebels pulled out of the area. It was not clear which group was in control of the checkpoint, where residents were staging a protest to vent their anger at soaring food prices. The area also witnessed clashes between rebels and government troops.

One of the most troubling outbursts of infighting among opposition fighters took place Friday, when the FSA said one of its commanders, Kamal Hamami, was shot dead by al-Qaida militants in the Jabal al-Turkoman mountain area in the coastal province of Latakia. Hamami, known as Abu Basir, served in the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army, a group headed by a secular-minded moderate that has the support of Western powers.

Activists monitoring Syria's more than 2-year-old conflict have previously reported sporadic infighting among rebel groups over control of the territory they've captured in the north along the border with Turkey. Those clashes were mostly between Kurdish and Arab rebels, and have subsided since a ceasefire agreement was reached earlier this year.

The fighting between moderate and jihadi groups that have for months battled Assad's regime together have become more frequent in recent weeks. The clashes have largely focused on border crossings with Turkey and vital installations, like bakeries, water wells, petrol stations and checkpoints in the north, according to the Observatory.

Another activist said the fighting is aimed at establishing control over the flow of food and aid to the residents. Each group is also trying to set up governing structures over the territory in the north the opposition has controlled for a year and take a cut of money from goods being smuggled into Syria over the border with Turkey.

The activists did not want to be quoted by name for fear of reprisal from both groups.

Militant Islamic groups, including those with links to al-Qaida, have been the most effective fighting force on the opposition side in the past year, spearheading many of the attacks that captured military bases, towns and villages and whole neighborhoods in Aleppo. In late February, Islamic battalions led the assault and conquered the eastern city of Raqqa, making it the first Syrian city to entirely fall under rebel control. Moderate factions are now fighting jihadi groups for a say in running of Raqqa.

In the central province of Homs, video emerged Saturday that appeared to show a government airstrike on the Krak des Chevaliers, one of the world's best-preserved Crusader castles. Government troops have been pressing an offensive against rebels in the province in recent months, and the town, which goes by the same name as the castle, has been under attack by regime troops for the past four days.

The Observatory said Syrian warplanes carried out at least three airstrikes in the area on Friday, but the activist group could not confirm whether the fortress itself had been hit. It also said government forces have ordered residents to evacuate the town, apparently in preparation for a full-scale attack on the area.

The imposing Krak des Chevaliers, which towers above the surrounding countryside from its hilltop perch, has a storied history. It held off a siege by the Muslim warrior Saladin nearly 900 years ago, and was lauded centuries later by Lawrence of Arabia for its beauty.

The fortress has already been damaged over the course of the civil war, but if the hit it took Friday is confirmed, it would mark the worst destruction to the building so far.

An amateur video posted to YouTube appeared to show a missile striking one of the castle's towers, sending a plume of smoke and dust into the sky. The off-camera narrator says the date is July 12, 2013. Another video purportedly taken from inside showed a hole in the thick stone ceiling of the castle, and a mound of debris and heavy stones under the open roof.

The videos appeared genuine and corresponded to other AP reporting on the events depicted.

Many of Syria's archaeological sites have been badly damaged by the country's civil war. Aleppo's centuries-old covered market was gutted by fire last year, while in April, the 11th-century minaret of the famed Umayyad Mosque that towered over the narrow stone alleyways of Aleppo's old quarter collapsed during fighting between troops and rebels.

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Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.

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AFL-CIO Plans To Partner With Progressive Groups, 'Open Up The Labor Movement'

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WASHINGTON -- The past year hasn't been easy for organized labor. Union density dipped to a historic low of just 6.6 percent of the private sector. Michigan, the birthplace of United Auto Workers union, went right-to-work in a blur. And public-sector unions found themselves fending off more state-level legislative attacks designed to weaken them.

Taking stock of those challenges, Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO union federation, insists that the battles and setbacks have presented the labor movement with a chance to reinvent itself.

"We have to change the way we're doing business in a significant way to get out of the crisis we find ourselves in," Trumka told The Huffington Post in an interview. "But this crisis also offers us ample and tremendous opportunity. That's what we're trying to do."

Trumka's prognosis comes a few weeks ahead of the AFL-CIO's quadrennial convention, the sort of confab that's ripe for self-analysis and reflection, particularly for a movement that's been on the ropes. The labor leader said the AFL-CIO is moving to build permanent relationships with progressive allies in the immigration, civil rights and environmental movements. The convention itself will offer a reflection of that strategy, Trumka said, including a speech from progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), which the senator's office confirmed to HuffPost.

"It's an opportunity for us to look at ourselves and say, 'What we've been doing hasn't been working. Let's figure out what we need to do to change and make it work,'" Trumka said. "It's the kickoff of a whole new process where we open up the labor movement."

Past conventions were 3-day affairs, but this year the federation has had active committees operating for the past several months, comprising not just labor groups but academics and left-leaning think tanks. Much of the discussion at the convention, Trumka said, will involve how to partner with groups like the NAACP and the National Council of La Raza to push a broader progressive agenda on Capitol Hill and in the statehouses.

The purpose of the talks is a humble one, Trumka said: "Tell us what we need to be. Tell us what people need us to be to meet their needs."

"Its the beginning of a continuous process," he said. "We will continue to bring people in and evolve, so we don't just take a snapshot of where we are and forget about it. We've done that in the past. The change has to be continual and become part of what we are and how we function."

Talk of making the labor movement more inclusive isn't new, and unions have long allied themselves with other progressive groups around political issues and elections. But the convention may signal the start of a more formal working relationship. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the AFL-CIO was planning to extend some decision-making powers to new groups that come under the tent, such as the Sierra Club. An AFL-CIO spokesman said no such relationships have been forged yet, and that the convention will merely be the start of the discussion.

Despite shrinking union density in the U.S. workforce, the AFL-CIO remains a potent political force, having played a large role in the ground game that helped reelect President Barack Obama last year. The strategy Trumka laid out suggests that the AFL-CIO would put even more of its time and energy toward politics, as opposed to growing its ranks through union elections.

But Trumka insisted worker organizing will remain a priority, through traditional and non-traditional methods.

Given the considerable hurdles to unionization in the U.S., the AFL-CIO has been seeking ways to influence workplaces outside of union elections held under the National Labor Relations Act. The federation's 10-year-old non-union affiliate, Working America, now plans to establish chapters in all 50 states, in an effort to bring into the fold more workers who aren't necessarily covered by a union contract.

That effort isn't so different from the federation broadening its relationship with, for example, civil rights groups, Trumka said.

"People who aren't part of a union and don't have a collective bargaining agreement will be able to come and join us," he said. "Progressive groups that we talk to who we were allied with in the past will be part of us and we'll talk together, we'll plan together, we'll strategize together, we'll educate together and we'll execute together."

"It used to be your issues and my issues," he added. "We want it to be our issues, whether it's a civil rights issue, a human rights issue, a women's issue, a race issue or a collective bargaining issue."

Unions recently won a victory on the collective bargaining front, when the Senate finally confirmed Obama's nominees to the National Labor Relations Board, the independent agency that enforces labor law. The board was headed toward a shutdown when a Senate fight over the filibuster forced Republicans to the table. The deal brokered guarantees that the the labor board will continue to operate with a liberal majority backed by the AFL-CIO, issuing decisions likely to be friendly to unions.

Trumka said there wasn't much to dislike in the deal.

"We got a functioning labor board for the life of the president's term. That's a good thing. Union and non-union workers depend on a functioning board." As for the massive fight required to achieve confirmation, "It's tragic that it came to that," he said. "Hopefully we're past that now."

The AFL-CIO may have another victory soon, with the United Food and Commercial Workers union appearing likely to rejoin the federation. The 1.3-million member union defected in 2005, and a return would significantly boost the AFL-CIO's rolls.

Trumka wouldn't comment on whether or not UFCW members might be at this year's convention. His main concern, he said, was linking arms with progressive allies outside of labor.

"The opposition was really good at wedging us," he said. "The goal is to take that away from them, so that we're one single group that works together, that plans together and executes together. ... None of us are capable of doing it alone."

Correction: This story originally referred to the convention as annual. It is, in fact, every four years.

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