Turkey, a NATO member has enlisted in its military effort the help of fighters from the Free Syrian Army as well as from members of the jihadist Ahrar al-Sham.
In a Skype interview with Schmiedinger, footage of the militants wearing red insignia and mixing with regular Turkish soldiers, was seen. He spoke to the German TV channel ARD.
“Here there’s a NATO army, which is also equipped with German weapons, fighting together with Islamist and jihadist militias — those are former FSA fighters, but also jihadists like Ahrar al-Sham, and even former Islamic State fighters — against the Kurds in this region.”
In Germany, Ahrar al -Sham has been listed by the Federal Prosecutor as a terrorist organisation.
Opposition groups have complained that Germany has exported weapons to Turkey as a NATO partner, while the latter is working closely with groups associated with jihadists in Syria. Turkey has the second biggest army in NATO.
The jihadists who shot down a Russian jet by using a man portable missile (MANPADS), have ignited speculation on where that missile came from. Warehouses in Turkey and Jordan are filled with such missiles ready to be distributed to anti-Syrian forces. The Wall Street Journal reported in February 2014:
Washington’s Arab allies, disappointed with Syria peace talks, have agreed to provide rebels there with more sophisticated weaponry, including shoulder-fired missiles that can take down jets, according to Western and Arab diplomats and opposition figures.
[…]
Rebel commanders and leaders of the Syrian political opposition said they don’t know yet how many of the Manpads and antiaircraft missiles they will get. But they have been told it is a significant amount. The weapons are already waiting in warehouses in Jordan and Turkey.
US National Security Advisor McMaster is expected to visit Turkey over the coming weekend, while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will follow a few days later.
A French source told FWM that Al-Eis, where the fighting is taking place, overlooks the Roman city ruins of Chalcis, the site of an early castle studied by researchers from Lyon University. “If it comes to a fight, that’ll be another archaeological site gone,” he said.
