Thousands flee Syria’s east amid rebel clashes

At least 60,000 people have fled towns in Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria due to ongoing fighting between al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front and the breakaway Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based monitoring group said at least 60,000 people have fled towns in Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria.

The rebel clashes have raged for four days despite an order from al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri to stop fighting.

"Residents of the towns of Busayra, home to 35,000 people, Abriha, home to 12,000 people, and al-Zir, home to 15,000 people, have nearly all been displaced by the fighting in the area,"said the Britain-based monitoring group.

The group, which relies on a vast network of contacts on the ground for its data, said al-Nusra Front's fighters burnt down several houses in Busayra, as did ISIL in Abriha.

At least 62 fighters have been killed in this week's clashes, said the Observatory. 

"There are battles now in an area around 10 kilometres from Busayra that has an oil rig and a gas plant," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

The latest showdown between al-Nusra and ISIL erupted on Wednesday in energy-rich Deir Ezzor, bordering Iraq.

The conflict in Syria since March 2011 has killed more than 150,000 people and forced nearly half the country's population to flee their homes.