There is such a deep sense of mistrust in Syria that it’s reasonable to assume it’s near impossible to decipher who is aligned with who. When so many different entities have a common goal why would that not translate to cooperation on the ground? This constantly updating live map of Syria shows every Tweet, post, etc, coming out of the region to give insight on the ground truth in Syria.

On the map legend, the rebels and al-Nusra are the same identifying color. It’s that hard to distinguish their operations and operating space. They fight the same people and share the same space. But they’re different. We support one and not the other.

The situation is different depending on what Syrian front you’re discussing. Much of this article is most applicable to south-east Syria and swathes of northwest Syria. Skirmishes, raids and tensions exists between different Syrian groups through the Syrian region. While I propose that al-Nusra and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) are somewhat aligned I also believe that marriage is an unstable one and fights occur, often. There is limited control in these groups and the battle space might more closely resemble a mad max movie than call of duty.

There are reported instances of Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel fighters defecting to join Al-Nusra. Some have noted that the FSA has been severely damaged because desertions to Al-Nusra and fighters out right were quitting. Some went as far as laying down their arms in a brokered ceasefire in Homs. Syrian Rebels left Homs at the time, but some local fighters stayed at home.