US-trained rebels rejoin the fight north Syria
ARA News
Qamishli, Syria – The first batch of Syrian opposition fighters, who received training by the U.S. military to fight Islamic State group (IS/ISIS), arrived to the city of Aleppo, in northern Syria, opposition sources reported on Friday.
Some 54 Syrian opposition fighters, who underwent a training by the U.S.-led program in Turkey, arrived to Aleppo through Killis border crossing.
The trained fighters took their positions in the town of Malikiya –where Turkmen constitute majority– near Azaz township in Aleppo province.
According to opposition-linked military sources, the returning fighters have received training by U.S. military personnel in Turkey over 74 days, and they have been provided with weapons to fight ISIS.
Speaking to ARA News, Mohammed Mullah Rashid, member of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), said that such an international support to the opposition forces “will have a significant impact on their performance on the ground”.
“However, the United States hasn’t yet provided the expected military support to the rebel factions in the fight against Assad regime and radical groups in Syria,” Rashid said.
“These trained fighters are confined to only fight IS terrorists in Syria, which raised resentment among those who sought to join the training program,” he said.
“Opposition military forces are committed to the aspiration of liberating from the Assad regime and terrorist groups like ISIS. This commitment should attract more attention from the international allies; otherwise, this war will never end,” Rashid told ARA News.
Reporting by: Ahmed Shiwesh
Source: ARA News
Comments