The US-led coalition is reportedly preparing to deploy a second group of Syrian rebels it trained to fight against the terrorist group Islamic State. The first one humiliatingly refused to fight Islamist group Al-Nusra Front shortly after deployment.
The second group, which is currently being trained by American and British instructors in Turkey, will be sent across to border to Syria to take control of roughly 80km of the border from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), Reuters reported citing diplomatic sources. The deployment is expected to happen in a matter of weeks.
The move was hailed as a potential game changer by the news agency’s sources, who said wresting the Turkish-Syrian border from IS would cut its supply of fresh records. One diplomat said it was too early to take the initial blunders of the training program to heart.
"Although there has been some skepticism about it, it is far too early to write off this program. Massive resources have been invested in this to make it work and we think it will work in the end," the source said.