Ankara Plan to Host Syrian Rebels Training Endangers Turks - Official

© East News / Nish NalbandianSyrian Revolutionaries Front is a moderate Syrian Opposition group fighting against both the Syrian Army and The Islamic State
Syrian Revolutionaries Front is a moderate Syrian Opposition group fighting against both the Syrian Army  and The Islamic State - Sputnik International
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Ankara's recently announced plan to host the US-led training of Syrian rebels will put Turkish citizens in danger, Turkish lawmaker and former ambassador to Washington Faruk Logoglu told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad giving an interview. File photo - Sputnik International
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In February, the United States and Turkey signed an agreement to train and equip the Free Syrian Army to combat ISIL.

The Free Syrian Army, created by former members of Syria's armed forces, is fighting both the country's government and the Islamic State group.

“The highly destructive Syria policy by the ruling Justice and Development Party has made Turkey a part of Syria’s civil war and contributed to the growth and spread of bloody clashes,” Logoglu said.

About two million Syrian refugees are currently in Turkey, and more than 200,000 Syrians have been killed in the ongoing war, the politician noted.

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“The failed Turkish policy towards Syria has played a direct role in all of this,” he told Sputnik.

The Turkish leadership moves have had a negative impact on the country’s internal and border security, with Turkish civilians being killed by shelling near the Syrian border, Logoglu said.

“And in these circumstances we are now going to start a program to train and equip militants of the Free Syrian Army. With this we will only further aggravate the already tense situation in the country and endanger the lives of our own citizens,” he said.

The Syrian civil war began in 2011, when widespread anti-government protests turned into an armed rebellion. Syrian government-led forces are currently battling numerous independent militias, including the Islamic State, itself subject to US-led coalition airstrikes since September 2014.

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