Special to WorldTribune.com

AMMAN — Saudi Arabia has sponsored tens of thousands of fighters to form a southern rebel front in Syria.

Saudi Arabia has been deemed the leading sponsor of a Sunni rebel force based in Jordan.

The force is called the Southern Front and said to contain 30,000 fighters assigned to southern Syria.

Rebel sources said the Southern Front was trained and equipped in Jordan under the supervision of the United States. They said about 2,500 U.S.-trained fighters, equipped with light weapons, were sent from Jordan to Syria over the last six months.

Diplomats played down the importance of the Southern Front. They said at least two major operations from Jordan to Syria failed within days as Islamist militias attacked the U.S.-trained fighters.

“They thought that they could dictate to the local militias, and that
proved to be a big mistake,” a regional diplomat said.

Southern Front spokesman Ibrahim Al Jabawi said the force stems from 55
militias deployed from the northern Jordanian border to Damascus. Al Jabawi
said the Southern Front was controlling parts of the Golan Heights near
Israel.

The Southern Front was formally launched in February 2014. Over the last
few weeks, Jordan has allowed the group to conduct media operations in
an effort to win international support.

  Islamist militias, Saudi-sponsored fighters join U.S. backed ‘Southern Front’ in Syria, Southern Front