Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — France is reportedly training rebels in their
effort to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

A major Turkish newspaper reported that France has sent military
advisers to train the Free Syrian Army. FSA, based in Turkey, was said to
have received training in weapons and combat skills in cooperation with
Britain and the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan.

“They have reached an agreement to send arms into Syria,” the Milliyet newspaper said on Nov. 28.

This marked the first report of NATO military help to the rebels in Syria. NATO repeatedly stated that it would not intervene militarily in the revolt against Assad.

Milliyet said FSA was being trained and equipped in consultation with the United States. The newspaper did not detail any U.S. role in the effort.

FSA claims a force of 20,000, most of them deserters from the Syrian Army. In November, the force, led by former Syrian Col. Riad Al Assad, increased attacks on Syrian military and security forces.

France and Britain were also said to have been recruiting Syrian
opposition forces in Lebanon. The Turkish media said French intelligence was assigned the task of recruiting a rebel force that would operate out of the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

Turkey has already raised the option of military measures against Assad.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the options included a buffer
zone along his country’s border with Syria.

“If the oppression continues, Turkey is ready for any scenario,”
Davutoglu said on Nov. 29. “If tens, hundreds of thousands of people start
advancing towards the Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey borders, not only Turkey but the
international community may be required to take some steps such as buffer
zone. We don’t want that to happen, but we must consider and work on that
scenario.”

Meanwhile, the Saudi Foreign Ministry has warned Saudis to leave Syria immediately
before they are endangered by the crackdown on the opposition by President
Bashar Assad.

The Foreign Ministry warning was issued on Nov. 29, two days after the
Arab League decided to impose sanctions on the Assad regime. Assad has
refused an Arab League demand to allow representatives to monitor the
behavior of the Syrian military and security forces, said to have killed
about 3,700 people since March.

Syria has accused several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, of fueling the rebellion with money and weapons.

Saudi newspapers close to the royal family have also focused their
coverage on the revolt against Assad. On Nov. 27, the Saudi-owned A-Sharq Al
Awsat quoted a rebel spokesman as saying that Assad was hiring fighters from
Iran, Iraq and Lebanon amid the deterioration of Syria’s military and
security forces.

Free Syrian Army spokesman Amr Wawi said Assad was forced to recruit
members of Hizbullah, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Shi’ite
militias in Iraq to compensate for the tens of thousands of Sunnis who
deserted the military. Wawi said the defections have required the “regime to
make internal changes in the military ranks.”

  Ahmet Davutoglu, Amr Wawi, Arab League, Bashar Assad, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, NATO, Recep Erdogan, Report: NATO states including France said to be recruiting, Shi’ite, Sunni, training Syrian rebels