The size of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) has tripled since the beginning of the Turkish Euphrates Shield operation in Syria.
Since the beginning of the Turkish Euphrates Shield operation in Syria, the numerical force of the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) has increased, the Turkish Anadolu news agency reported, citing a division commander of the FSA, Murad Shikhly.
“If at the beginning of the operation the number of our soldiers was 1,000 soldiers, now we have about 3,000 [fighters]. We are confidently moving towards our goal. Neither the Daesh [also known as the Islamic State terrorist group], nor the PYD [the Kurdish Democratic Union Party] cannot stop us, because we believe in our strength. Of course, we have all this thanks to Turkey’s support, including logistics [support],” Anadolu quoted the words of Shikhly.
According to Shikhly, many of representatives of the FSA, who some time ago moved to Turkey, are now returning to the Syrian territory in order to resume the “armed struggle.”
The Euphrates Shield operation, conducted by Turkish troops, looks very ‘originally’. The Turkish Army announced it as the operation against IS members. However, IS terrorists did not engage in a battle with Turkish soldiers in northern Syria. As soon as Turkish troops were approaching to some settlement, terrorists of the so-called Islamic State group left the locality and went deep into the country. Instead of this, the Turkish Army is engaged in active hostilities against Kurdish self-defense units, which oppose the IS. On this background, size of the FSA, which is positioned as a ‘moderate’ opposition, but which also strangely avoids possible clashes with the IS, also grows.
Official Damascus calls Turkey’s actions in northern Syria occupation of the country.
