MESOP NEWS : FSA soldiers train in Saudi Arabia

29-9-2014 – The first group of Free Syrian Army (FSA) soldiers have arrived in Saudi Arabia to receive training in the use of “advanced American weapons,” Mustafa Farhat, official spokesman of the FSA, was quoted as saying by Kurdish news agency Rudaw on Sunday.A number of retired Saudi generals “of high competency” are training the fighters.

The training and fielding is expected to take between eight and 12 months, said Pentagon Spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby in a press conference on September 19. As for the fighters, “they have to have military leaders that bind them together,” chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said in a press conference on September 26, adding that “they have to have a political structure into which they can hook.” At least one rebel officer remains doubtful of the possibility of forming a cohesive military-political FSA leadership from the trainees. “Some [FSA soldiers] were chosen for training, and afterwards for fighting under the FSA banner—but what about those who aren’t receiving training and are still fighting under the FSA banner?” Ala Bajqa, an officer with the Aswad al-Islam brigade, told Syria Direct Monday.