Cairo, Beirut: Egypt and Saudi Arabia have sought to downplay reports of discord among the close allies over Syria.
Riyadh is a key backer of extremists battling to overthrow President Bashar Al Assad. Egypt’s government, which is deeply suspicious of radical movements throughout the region, says Al Assad’s government will have to be part of a negotiated settlement.
Local media say the dispute over Syria has caused discord between the two allies. Saudi Arabia has given billions of dollars to Egypt since the military overthrew President Mohammad Musrsi in 2013.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir, who is visiting Cairo for the first time since assuming his post, said on Sunday he does not know where “impressions” of discord came from.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry says the two countries’ policies complement each other.
In Syria, Daesh fighters advanced against rival insurgents in the north of the country on Sunday, capturing areas close to a border crossing with Turkey, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The fighters captured the town of Soran Azaz and two nearby villages after clashes with other rebels, the Observatory said.
This meant the group could now move along a road leading north to the Bab Al Salam border crossing between the Syrian province of Aleppo and the Turkish province of Kilis.
The next stop would be Syria’s Azaz city, 10km further north, giving Daesh a gateway to the border crossing close by, the Observatory added.
Daesh has seized tracts of territory across Syria and Iraq. It had advanced rapidly in other parts of Syria in recent weeks, capturing the central city of Palmyra and the last border crossing between Syria and Iraq in the east.
The group is fighting both rival insurgents, the Syrian military and Kurdish forces in the four-year-old conflict.
Further east in Hasaka province, a fire in a clinic caused by a gas explosion killed at least 24 people including children in Qamishli city, the Observatory said.
Syrian air force strikes on Saturday in Al Shadadi town in the province had killed 43 Daesh fighters and 22 civilians, it said.
Mainly Kurdish YPG forces have been battling Daesh in Hasaka, a strategic province for all sides in the conflict due to its position next to Daesh-held territory in Iraq.
US-led forces have carried out air strikes on Daesh positions in the province and have worked in coordination with the Kurds. Both the US-led forces and the YPG say they do not work with the Syrian military, which has also bombed the area.
