A member of al Qaeda's Nusra Front carries his weapon as he stands in an olive tree field in the southern countryside of Idlib, December 2, 2014. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's powerful Syrian branch, the Nusra Front, announced on Thursday it was ending its relationship with the global jihadist network founded by Osama bin Laden, to remove a pretext used by world powers to attack Syrians.
The announcement came as Russia and President Bashar al-Assad's government declared a "humanitarian operation" in the besieged rebel-held sector of Aleppo, opening "safe corridors" so people can flee Syria's most important opposition stronghold.
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