“We must avoid a situation whereby as Daesh [ISIS] becomes weaker, other groups become stronger,” Hollande reasoned after saying that it “is beyond dispute” that ISIS is in retreat in both Iraq and Syria.
Hollande fears that Nusra, an al-Qaeda offshoot in Syria, will benefit from ISIS’s losses. The IHS Conflict Monitor estimates that the Islamic State lost 12 percent of its territory and 30 percent of its monthly income in the first half of this year, taking a sizeable toll on the group’s morale.
“We must coordinate among ourselves to continue actions against Daesh but also … take effective action against al-Nusra,” Hollande said.
His remarks, made on Saturday, come after US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Wednesday to “intensify” their military coordination in Syria.
Both world leaders, according to the White House, “confirmed their commitment to defeating ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front.”
The Obama administration had earlier suggested coordinating militarily with the Russians in Syria against Nusra if Russia agreed to pressure the Syrian regime to stop targeting certain groups across Syria.
ISIS and Nusra are enemies since Nusra has refused to break from the al-Qaeda leadership and merge with ISIS.
Both groups are excluded from the collapsing ceasefire the US and Russia brought about in Syria last February. However, unlike ISIS, Nusra has proven harder to target since it has successfully integrated itself into other armed Syrian groups fighting the regime that are party to the ceasefire.
Russia has long warned that these groups need to clearly break from Nusra if they want to avoid being bombed.
