- The leader of an an Qaeda-linked group tells Syrian rebels to stop infighting
- More than 270 people are killed in four days of fighting between two rebel groups
- If infighting goes on, "The whole battlefield ... will pay the price," says al Nusra Front leader
- "The (Syrian) regime will rebound after it was near disappearing," he warns
(CNN) -- The leader of an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria is calling for an end to days of bloody infighting between opposition factions, according to an online message.
Abu-Mohammad al-Jolani, leader of the al Qaeda-linked al Nusra Front, called on another al Qaeda franchise -- the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) -- and moderate rebel groups to implement a cease-fire after more than 270 people were killed in four days of fighting between the two opposition factions, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In a nine-minute audio message, al-Joulani blamed "the incorrect policies" of ISIS for "aggravating the conflict" between armed opposition factions, and urged a resolution to the conflict by calling for an immediate cease-fire and creating a Sharia council made up of all relevant groups. The criticism of a fellow al Qaeda affiliate by al Nusra Front is part of a longstanding dispute between the two that came to a head last October when al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri called on ISIS to withdraw from Syria, a call the group refused to heed.
"The whole battlefield and all those in it from foreign to local fighters will pay the price for losing a great jihad and the (Syrian) regime will rebound after it was near disappearing," al-Joulani warns in the new message posted on online jihadist forums.
Syrian rebel groups fighting each other 
How does Syrian conflict affect region? 
A man reacts after what activists said was an air raid by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the al-Marja district of Aleppo on Monday, December 23. The United Nations estimates more than 100,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011. Click through to see the most compelling images taken during the conflict, which is now a civil war: 
Free Syrian Army fighters sit in a damaged house in Old Aleppo on December 21. 
People search for survivors amid the rubble after an airstrike in Aleppo on Tuesday, December 17. 
A man sits on the ground after the airstrike in Aleppo on December 17. 
A woman carries children following airstrikes on a rebel area of Aleppo on Sunday, December 15. 
Syrians look at the aftermath of an airstrike on a rebel area of Aleppo on December 15. 
Syrians help a wounded woman following airstrikes in Aleppo on December 15. 
Syrians look at the aftermath of an airstrike on a rebel area of Aleppo on December 15. 
Syrian rebel fighters clash with pro-government forces in Aleppo on Wednesday, December 11. 
A woman weeps inside a damaged vehicle after forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad captured the town of Nabak on Monday, December 9. 
Rebel fighters in Aleppo fortify a barricade with destroyed public buses on Wednesday, December 4. 
A rebel fighter takes position during fighting with government forces in Deir Ezzor on Monday, December 2. 
Shiite fighters from a group called the Hussein Brigade search for rebels from the Free Syrian Army in Hejeira on Thursday, November 21. 
Free Syrian Army rebels battle government forces in Aleppo, Syria, on Monday, November 18. 
A rebel fighter fires his weapon as he stands amid rubble and debris during clashes with Syrian government forces in Deir Ezzor, Syria, on Monday, November 11. 
A rebel fighter prepares an improvised mortar shell in Aleppo, Syria, on Saturday, November 9. 
Two injured men are transported on a cart in Aleppo, Syria, following shelling as fighting between pro-government forces and rebels continues on Saturday, October 26. 
Rebel fighters hold a position in Deir Ezzor, Syria, on Thursday, October 24. 
An opposition fighter stands in the doorway of a building as he smokes a cigarette in Deir Ezzor, Syria, on Tuesday, October 22. 
People use buckets as they try to extinguish a fire that ignited at a fuel station in Aleppo, Syria, on Sunday, October 20. 
A Syrian opposition fighter aims a catapult toward regime forces in Aleppo, Syria, on Thursday, October 17. 
An opposition fighter rests on the front lines in the northeastern Syria city of Deir Ezzor on Tuesday, October 15. 
Firefighters extinguish a burning vehicle after two mortar rounds struck the Abu Roumaneh area in Damascus, Syria, on Saturday, October 12. 
An opposition fighter aims as others run for cover while they hold a position behind burning tires in the Salaheddin district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Wednesday, October 9. 
An opposition fighter smokes a cigarette as he takes a break following the injury of his friend in the Salaheddin neighborhood of Aleppo on October 9. 
An opposition fighter from the Al-Ikhlas brigade guards a post in Deir Ezzor, Syria, on Wednesday, October 9. 
Smoke rises after a mortar shell hit a residential area during fighting between Syrian government forces and rebels in Maaret al-Numan, Syria, on October, 9. 
Rebel fighters cover a car in mud for camouflage at an undisclosed location in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Tuesday, October 8. 
Masked female rebel fighters walk alongside their trainer on a street in the Salaheddin district of Aleppo, Syria, on October 8. 
A rebel fighter prays moments before heading into battle in Maaret al-Numan, Syria, on Monday, October 7. 
A mother comforts her baby in an area where she and her family have taken shelter after fleeing their village turned battlefield in Syria's Idlib province on Sunday, September 22. 
A man checks an AK-47 at his gun shop in Aleppo, Syria, on Saturday, September 21. 
Free Syrian Army fighters take cover moments after firing a rocket toward government forces in the Idlib province of northern Syria on Friday, September 20. 
Free Syrian Army fighters take cover during clashes with government forces in Idlib province on September 20. 
Rebel fighters inspect a stairwell amid fighting against Syrian government forces on Thursday, September 19, in the Saif al-Dawla district of Aleppo, Syria. 
A Syrian child sits in a village in the Idlib province countryside on Septeptember 19. 
Opposition fighters react after returning from the battlefield in the Idlib province countryside on September 19. 
Smoke rises after a bomb was thrown from a helicopter, hitting a rebel position during heavy fighting between troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opposition fighters in the Idlib province on September 19. 
A Syrian opposition fighter watches as heavy fighting erupts in the neighboring village of Kafr Nabuda in the Idlib province on September 19. 
Rebel fighters aim their weapons during fighting against Syrian government forces on September 19 in the Saif al-Dawla district of Aleppo. 
Rebel fighters duck behind a barricade from firing in Aleppo on Wednesday, September 18. 
AFP reporter Sammy Ketz hits the ground as a Syrian soldier runs past during sniper fire in Maalula on September 18. Ketz and a photographer were reporting on the ancient Christian Syrian town northeast of Damascus. 
A Syrian opposition fighter takes a break on a mountain near a rebel camp in Idlib province on September 18. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter rests inside a cave at a rebel camp in Idlib province on Tuesday, September 17. 
Rebels gather on a square in Damascus' Shebaa district on September 17. 
Volunteers wear protective gear to show a class how to respond to a chemical attack in Aleppo, Syria, on September 15. For two months, Mohammad Zayed, an Aleppo University student, has been training a group of 26 civilians to respond to a chemical attack. 
Syria's pro-Assad militia rest near Maalula, Syria, on Friday, September 13. 
Pro-Assad soldiers leave a checkpoint that they control in Maalula, Syria, on September 13. 
Syrian soldiers take aim at rebel fighters positioned in the mountains of the Christian town of Maalula on September 13. 
Rebels parade at a former military academy north of Aleppo during a September 13 ceremony to mark an agreement to unite two rebel brigade forces. 
A fighter of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command squats next to the covered body of an alleged foreign rebel fighter in the Yarmouk refugee camp in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Thursday, September 12. 
An opposition fighter runs in front of a sniper curtain in the industrial area of Deir Ezzor, Syria, during clashes with regime forces on September 12. 
A sheet hangs across an alley way to shield fighters from sniper fire as a fighter of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command walks past destroyed buildings in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, Syria, on September 12. 
A Syrian pro-government soldier aims his rifle as he patrols the streets of the Christian town of Maalula on Wednesday, September 11. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter stands guard inside a damaged house in Aleppo's Qastal al-Harami neighborhood on September 11. 
Free Syrian Army fighters climb a flight of stairs to take positions near the Hanano barracks on September 11. 
A Syrian government tank is seen during clashes with Free Syrian Army fighters in Maaloula, Syria, on September 11. 
A funeral is held on September 11 for three Christian Syrians killed during battles with an al Qaeda-linked rebel group that took control of the historic Christian town of Maaloula from regime forces during the weekend. 
A man walks through a destroyed residential area of Saraqib, Syria, on Monday, September 9, following repeated airstrikes by government forces. 
A soldier wears a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on his chest while at a market in old Damascus on September 8. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter prays in a trench in the Damascus suburbs on September 8. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes up a shooting position in Aleppo on September 8. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter runs for cover in Raqqa province on September 8. 
Buildings are heavily damaged in the Salah al-Din area of Aleppo on September 8. 
A boy named Issa, 10, carries a mortar shell in a weapons factory of the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo on Saturday, September 7. The boy works with his father in the factory. 
Issa fixes a mortar launcher in the Aleppo weapons factory on September 7. 
A bedroom lies in ruins after clashes between government forces and rebels around Ariha on September 7. 
Rebels prepare explosive devices for fighting with government forces on September 7 in Deir Ezzor. 
Syrian forces are seen in the Syrian Christian town of Maaloula on September 7. 
A Syrian soldier prepares large-caliber bullets for a machine gun in Maaloula on September 7. 
A man stands inside a home damaged by heavy shelling in Arbeen, a suburb of Damascus, Syria, on September 7. 
Men gather on the remains of a destroyed building after reported airstrikes by Syrian government forces in the rebel-held northwestern Syrian province of Idlib on Thursday, September 5. 
Men observe the wreckage of a motorbike in the Syrian province of Idlib on September 5. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog said that Syrian war planes bombed rebel-held areas in Idlib, Aleppo, Hama and Lattakia. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter looks through a hole from behind sandbags, while a fellow fighter reads the Quran in Deir Ezzor, Syria, on Tuesday, September 3. The United States and other Western nations blame the Assad regime for a chemical weapons attack that's believed to have killed more than 1,400 people. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover as he watches forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad near Hanano barracks in Aleppo on September 3. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter is seen through a hole in a wall of a building in Aleppo on September 3. 
Free Syrian Army fighters walk inside a damaged house in Aleppo on September 3. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter walks through a hole in a wall in Aleppo on September 3. 
Free Syrian Army fighters talk inside a burnt house in Aleppo on September 3. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter peeks through the curtains of a bedroom in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, on Monday, September 2. 
Free Syrian Army fighters take their positions behind piled sandbags, as one of them points his weapon, in Deir ez-Zor on September 2. 
A rebel fighter points his weapon at Syrian regime forces in Deir ez-Zor on September 2. 
Syrian firefighters try to extinguish a fire after a missile hit a residential building in Damascus, Syria, on September 2. 
A U.N. arms expert collects samples during an inspection of a suspected chemical weapons strike site in the Ghouta area outside Damascus on August 29. 
People search for belongings in rubble in Raqqa, Syria, on August 29. 
Free Syrian Army fighters launch a rocket toward forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Deir Ezzor on August 29. 
A Syrian Kurd uses hay to hide another woman in a training session organized by the Kurdish Women's Defense Units on Wednesday, August 28, in a northern Syrian border village. They're preparing if the area comes under attack. 
Free Syrian Army fighters escort U.N. vehicles with chemical weapons experts on August 28 through a site of a suspected chemical weapons attack outside Damascus. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes position behind sandbags in the old city of Aleppo, Syria, on Tuesday, August 27. 
A U.N. team leaves its Damascus, Syria, hotel in a convoy on Monday, August 26. The team was to investigate an alleged chemical attack that killed hundreds last week in a suburb of the Syrian capital. Sniper fire hit a vehicle used by the U.N. chemical weapons investigation team multiple times Monday, according to the United Nations. 
A Syrian soldier walks down a street in Damascus on Saturday, August 24. 
Pigeons lie dead on the ground on August 24 from after what activists say is the use of chemical weapons by government forces in the Damascus suburb of Arbeen. 
Columns of smoke rise in Barzeh after heavy shelling on Friday, August 23. 
A young Free Syrian Army fighter is reflected in a mirror as he takes position in a house in Aleppo on Thursday, August 22. 
Rebels move around a building in Aleppo on August 22. 
Syrian rebels claim pro-government forces used chemical weapons to kill citizens outside Damascus on Wednesday, August 21. People inspect bodies in this photo released by the Syrian opposition Shaam News Network. 
People search the rubble of a bombed building in Aleppo, Syria, on Friday, August 16. 
Men bury the bodies of six members of the same family killed in a bombing in Raqqa on Saturday, August 10. 
Syrian Army soldiers patrol a devastated street in Homs on Wednesday, July 31. 
Free Syrian Army fighters move through a hole in a wall in Khan al-Assal on Monday, July 22, after seizing the town. 
A rebel fighter walks past swings in a deserted playground in Deir al-Zor, Syria, on Sunday, July 21. 
A rebel fighter speaks with a fellow fighter through a hole in a wall in Deir al-Zor on July 21. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter casts a shadow on a wall as he carries his weapon in a shelter in Deir al-Zor on Thursday, July 18. 
Yahya Sweed, 13, is comforted by his father as he lies on a bed in Kfar Nubul on Tuesday, July 16. The boy was injured by shrapnel, resulting in the amputation of his right leg. 
A rebel fighter naps in a trench about 300 feet from the Syrian government forces' positions along the highway connecting Idlib with Latakia on Monday, July 15. 
A rebel fighter uses a hole in the wall of a destroyed school to aim at Syrian government forces in the Izaa district of Aleppo on Sunday, July 14. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter uses a mirror to scope out snipers loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on Friday, July 12. 
A Free Syrian Army fighter stands over a boy who was injured during shelling in Al-Bara on Monday, July 8. 
Members of the Free Syrian Army fire a homemade rocket toward regime forces in Deir al-Zor on Sunday, June 16. 
Syrian rebels leave their position in the northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan on Thursday, June 13. The White House said that the Syrian government has crossed a "red line" with its use of chemical weapons and announced it would start arming the rebels. 
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