Arab rebels and Kurdish militias join forces against Assad Arab anti-regime rebels and Kurdish militias in northern Syria have joined forces against troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad after three months of hostilities. Clashes have erupted periodically between the two sides since Islamist rebels entered the city of Ras al-Ain last November and seized a strategic crossing on the Turkish border. But since a truce in late February, Kurdish fighters and rebels now stand side by side patrolling checkpoints at the gates of the city. Images and soundbites