Local Editor

Fighting between rival extremist groups in eastern Syria killed 63 people on Monday, despite a call from al-Qaeda's chief for a ceasefire.

The clashes between al-Qaeda's Syrian branch al-Nusra Front and the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant"[ISIL] have prompted 60,000 people to flee towns in the oil-rich province.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 58 fighters on both sides had been killed in the clashes on Monday, along with five civilians.

The deaths bring to 150 the toll since the latest confrontation between the groups erupted last week in Deir Ezzor, bordering Iraq.

It comes after the so-called "Free Syrian Army" joined by al-Nusra launched an offensive against ISIL earlier this year.
The fighting with ISIL has killed around 4,000 people, according to the Britain-based Observatory.
The two extremist groups have continued to clash despite a call from al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri for an end to hostilities.

In an audio recording released on Friday, Zawahiri urged al-Nusra to stop fighting ISIL and focus on battling the Syrian regime.
He also a repeated a call for ISIL to restrict its activities to Iraq, a plea that the group has rejected on several occasions.

In a response to Zawahiri's call, al-Nusra said it would stop fighting ISIL if the group ended its attacks.
"We will follow the orders of... Ayman al-Zawahiri... to stop any attack from our side against ISIL, while continuing to respond whenever they attack Muslims and all that is sacred to them," al-Nusra said in a statement.

"As soon as ISIL announces the end of its attacks on Muslims, we will spontaneously stop firing," said the group, adding it had only fought ISIL in areas "where it was on the attack".

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team