A New Turn as Trump Ends Ties with Syrian Rebels

The Trump administration in the US has decided to end its covert CIA program of aiding Syrian militant groups in a move expected to initiate new phase in the war-torn country. The withdrawal of secret support comes years after the US began aiding anti-Assad rebels with arms and ammunition.

This secret program, initiated by the US under former president Barrack Obama in 2013, aimed to support “moderate” militant groups opposing Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and topple Assad regime in the country.

The arms and ammunition, channeled into Syria by the US and its regional allies, however, ended up in the hands of fighters within the ranks of radical militant groups like Al-Qaeda and its affiliates and the Islamic State (IS). Also, the program helped radical Islamist fighters, who made inroads in the so called moderate rebel factions fighting Assad and the Islamic State (IS).

The movie to withdraw support to rebels has been welcomed in Russia. “No doubt, such a turn creates new opportunities for Russian-U.S. cooperation in anti-terror in that country," Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev tweeted later.

Earlier this month, an investigative report by Bulgarian journalist Dilyana Gaytandzhieva revealed massive illegal arms supply of arms and ammunition to Islamist militants in Syria, Iraq and several other countries.

The report, published in Bulgarian newspaper Trud on July 2, said Azerbaijan’s state-run Silk Way Airlines (SAA) carried huge quantities of weapons in at least 350 diplomatic flights in past three years. Based on leaked correspondence between Bulgarian foreign ministry and Embassy of Azerbaijan in Bulgaria, it added the weapons were routed to radical militant groups in the diplomatic flights by American companies. 

“Among the main customers of the ‘diplomatic flights for weapons’ service provided by Silk Way Airlines are American companies, which supply weapons to the US Army and US special operations command,” the report said.

The flights, according to the explosive report, carried weapons for different conflict zones crossing Europe, Asia and Africa. A massive weapons haul seized in Mosul from an IS held warehouse, more than a month ago, were discovered to be from SAA’s military cargo in a Baku to Burgas-Jeddah-Brazaville bound flight.

Bulgarian journalist Dilyana Gaytandzhieva (screenshot from her report about arms recovery)

In December last year, while reporting from Aleppo, Dilyana also found and filmed nine underground warehouses full of heavy weapons with Bulgaria as their country of origin. “They were used by Al Nusra Front (Jabhat al Fateh al Shaam),” she pointed out.

The decision is likely to have effect US backed rebels holding territories in the country. The US is also expected to evacuate military base of Al-Tanaf, leaving the rebels to fend off for themselves as Syrian forces make an advance reclaiming further territory.