MESOP : THE DESASTER CONTINUES : SAFE ZONES & CAPTURED PRO US REBELS
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| Though U.S. officials said yesterday that they were expanding air support to protect Syrian rebels trained by the United States, activists in Syria report this morning that five more members of U.S.-supported rebel group Division 30 were captured last night by Jabhat al-Nusra. The attack on the Division 30 fighters came in the town of Qah, near the Syria-Turkey border. U.S. officials also told Reuters yesterday that the first U.S.-trained Syrian rebel to die in combat is believed to have been killed in fighting last Friday.
The setbacks for the U.S.-trained rebel force come as the United States continues discussions with Turkey about a proposed “safe zone.” Turkish officials are pushing to exclude Kurdish rebels from operating in the proposed safe zone. U.S. officials have countered by saying they will not rely on Kurdish rebels, but that they will work with them in the safe zone if necessary. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded to the recent U.S. escalation in Syria at a press conference in Qatar, calling it “counterproductive.” |