Special to WorldTribune.com
ANKARA — Turkey and the United States have decided to refrain from training Syrian rebels with live fire.
Officials said Ankara and Washington have drafted a training program for thousands of Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. They said the program would not include live fire to prevent accidents and deadly clashes between rivals.
“The use of live ammunition would be left to the last stage,” an official said.
Officials said the two countries envisioned training of up to 15,000 rebels over the next 18 months. They said most of the training would take place in Turkey, with supervision by the U.S. military.
In mid-October, Turkey and the United States held military cooperation talks that focused on the war against ISIL. In two days meetings, the Turkish military discussed options with representatives of the U.S. Central
Command and European Command. Centcom covers Syria while Eucom is responsible for U.S. operations in Turkey.
Officials said the first phase of training for Syrian rebels would involve simulators. They said the Sunni fighters would be given instruction on individual and group assault skills through advanced U.S. systems.
Other elements of the training course, expected to last four months, would include target location, urban warfare and explosives. They said the U.S. military would introduce lasers that rebels could use to facilitate air strikes on ISIL.
“Turkey has agreed to support train-and-equip efforts for the moderate Syrian opposition,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Oct. 9.
Officials said the Syrian rebels would undergo training close to their country. They cited a Gendarmerie base in the central province of Kirsehir, which contains small arms simulators.
Turkey plans to authorize its National Intelligence Organization to vet the Syrian rebels. Officials said the first batch of trainees could reach 2,000 and would be dominated by ethnic Turks from Aleppo and Damascus.
“There are lots of questions regarding the criterial of the Syrian rebels and their mission when they return to Syria,” the official said. “The easiest issue is training.”
Live-fire exercises deemed too dangerous for rebels trained to fight ISIL added by World Tribune on
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