US Trained Forces in Syria Surrender Weapons to Al Qaeda Affiliate
A U.S. trained rebel group handed over a quarter of their supplies to the Al Qaeda affiliated al Nusra front in a major setback for the U.S. effort to create a group of "moderate" rebels on the ground to affect the outcome on the ground of the Syrian Civil War.
The U.S. backed forces handed over six pick-up trucks and ammunition in exchange for safe passage through Nusra controlled territory, according to Reuters. A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, which is tasked with running the train and equip program, said that such actions were a violation of the training the forces had received.
The equipment surrender raises new questions about the $500 million dollar program that has trained and equipped rebel fighters that have been vetted by the U.S. government. Last week, Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III told the U.S. Senate that only four or five fighters trained by the United States were active in battle. He also said that the ultimate goal of training 5,000 fighters seemed like it would not be reached any time soon, according to The New York Times.
The Syrian Civil War is now in its fourth year, and the battlefield continues to evolve with the recent joining of Russian forces at an airbase the country is constructing in Latakia, the homeland of President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia is said to have sent dozens of tanks, artillery, fighter jets, and helicopter gunships to the base, which is said to have housing to support between 1,000 and 2,000 soldiers.
