The main rebel faction in the newly formed “Syrian Democratic Forces” (SDF) has a turbulent history with the Islamist rebels in northern Syria, dating back to early March of this year when the U.S. backed “Harakat Hazzm” and “Syrian Revolutionaries Front” were disbanded after being kicked out of Idlib and Aleppo by the Syrian Al-Qaeda group “Jabhat Al-Nusra”.

The present leader of Jaysh Al-Thuwar (SDF faction), Jamal Ma’rouf, is currently at odds with the Fatah Halab coalition over its ties with Jabhat Al-Nusra; this has spiraled into a civil war between two different U.S. backed rebel factions in northern Aleppo.

On one side, there is the FSA groups associated with the Syrian Democratic Forces and on the other side, there is the FSA groups associated with Fatah Halab coalition and their Islamist allies.

As a result of these rivalries in northern Aleppo, the U.S. backed rebels find themselves fighting one another near the border of Turkey, as the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) continues to push west towards the imperative rebel stronghold of Mar’e.

On Monday morning, the firefights between the U.S. backed rebels intensified after both the predominately Kurdish “People’s Protection Units” (YPG) and Jabhat Al-Nusra joined the battle to aid their allies near the Afrin Canton.

While the ground situation remains unchanged, both sides have acknowledged heavy losses over the last 72 hours, despite repeated attempts to dissipate the fighting between the former allies.