28 January 2015

US and international partners to establish training sites for Syrian opposition

On 23 January, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby stated that US troops will soon be dispatched in order to establish training sites for the Syrian opposition. He is quoted as stating that: ‘We’ve said, though, we know how to do this and we’re not going to do it just alone (…) We’re going to do it with our interagency and international partners, people who know these groups.’

Pentagon spokeswomen Elisa Smith said: ‘Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar have agreed to host training sites, and we anticipate the program to train and equip the moderate Syrian opposition will take approximately 400 U.S. trainers, with the caveat that this number could fluctuate based on course load, course requirements and other variables.’

Source: U.S. Department of Defense | U.S. Troops to Begin Establishing Syrian Opposition Training Sites
Source: The Washington Times | U.S. is sending 400 troops to train Syrian fighters against Islamic State