Despite the $500 million it has allocated towards vetting potential 'moderate opposition' fighters in Syria to fight ISIL, the US has so-far only managed to train an "awfully small" force of 100 men, according to US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. Fortunately for the Obama Administration, America does have allies in in Syria. Kurdish YPG forces have been fighting Islamic militants since 2013, despite having recently been attacked by Turkey, which has been a NATO member since 1952.
The Arab al Sanadid militia, which support the Kurds and are part of the Syrian Arab Coalition, claim to be opposed to another American ally —Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, an Arab militia group, the Raqqa Revolutionaries' Brigade, is the only force to have prioritized liberating the strategic city of Raqqa from ISIL. However, McClatcyDC.com reports that they will not get any military supply in the nearest future, simply because they are out of the US spotlight.
#Turkey airforce bombed boat belonging to kurdish #YPG-forces on Euphrates river near #Jarablus in northern #Syria
— Mark (@markito0171) 26 октября 2015
America relies on and sends arms to the Kurds, whose military interests conflict with Turkey's. Ankara is ready to use force to stop them, according to a statement released by the country's President Recep Tayip Erdogan on Thursday.
Once again Turkish military fired at #YPG positions tonight, around village Yabsah, west of #GirêSipî. #Rojava Source: locals #TwitterKurds
— Jack Shahine (@jackshahine) 30 октября 2015
This might happen if Kurdish troops start an offensive against the Islamic State as planned — near the Turkish border, between Kurdish enclaves of Kobani and Afrin just north of Aleppo and in other places.
"We in the YPG have a strategic goal, to link Afrin with Kobani," Polat Can, a senior YPG official was quoted as saying by McClatchy.
#US expect kurdish #YPG forces storm the #IS-"capital" #Raqqa but they are unwilling bc its an arab town
— Mark (@markito0171) 29 октября 2015
"We will do everything we can to achieve it," he added, stressing that other areas, such as Raqqa, where ISIL is based, "are not so important."
Al Sanadid, a local Arab militia comprised of members of the Shammar tribe which counts the YPG among its allies, agrees with this strategic vision, McClatchy reports. The Kurds control vast areas in northern Syria, including land inhabited by the Shammar.
Promo pics of #AlSanadid fighters manning defences near Jaz'ah (media wing taking its branding up a notch) pic.twitter.com/IItGv6S5JE
— Hans Scholl (@ver_scholl_en) 23 октября 2015
The immediate goal of al Sanadid is to "to liberate al Hawl and Ash Shaddadi from ISIL," Bandar al Humaydi, the son of the head of the tribe, Sheikh Humaydi Daham al Hadi, told McClatchy. Both cities he mentioned are of local importance and are located in al Hasakah province, far from Raqqa.
Multiple Reports: AL HAWL LIBERATION HAS STARTED! Joint YPG- Al Sanadid Force is advancing from the North! pic.twitter.com/r4b8pA5Nwp
— Şengal Azadî (@UniteKurdistan) 31 октября 2015
Sheikh himself said to McClatchy, that his goal is to lead a Shammar tribal uprising against the Islamic State terrorists in Syria, Iraq and beyond, meaning the dissolution of Saudi Arabia, the historic adversary of his tribe, he detailed. Lands of the tribe are spread from northern Syria and Iraq to Saudi Arabia.
#AlSanadid high commander Bandar Hamidi on a recent visit to a field headquarters (likely somewhere N of al-Houl) pic.twitter.com/kaAWMUAywx
— Hans Scholl (@ver_scholl_en) 25 октября 2015
Al Sanadid belongs to a newly-formed Kurdish YPG-led military and political alliance, dubbed the Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes also the Kurdish Women's Protection Units (YPJ), Assyrian Christian units, Euphrates Volcano as well as fighters from several Arab factions.
Evidently — in the name of "revolution" — YPG now explicitly aligned with US imperialism. http://t.co/zc47NNaqNT pic.twitter.com/ppJ6fgllnG
— Club des Cordeliers (@cordeliers) 17 октября 2015
Meanwhile, another force which joined the Syrian Democratic Forces, whose ultimate goal is to fight ISIL in Raqqa and liberate the city from jihadists, has repeatedly been refused any arms supplies. The Liwa Thuwwar al-Raqqa, or the Raqqa Revolutionaries' Brigade, is led by a Raqqa merchant, Abu Issa.
"We are now preparing for the battle of Raqqa," Abu Issa told McClatchy in his first interview with a Western news outlet. "But we have very limited resources. We need to have the same equipment as our enemy," he said, referring to the tanks and military vehicles ISIL operates.
Liwa Thuwwar al-Raqqa (FSA) fighters near Tal Abyad. #Syria #Raqqa pic.twitter.com/qIaDJgnI2s
— Rami (@RamiSafadi93) 15 июня 2015
Over a dozen of his Fighters were trained by the United States how to use anti-tank weapons, but haven't had the chance to use one on the battlefield dues to a lack of supplies.
"We have been fighting ISIS for almost two years," he told McClatchy. "We were the first to fight them. The most important thing is we need weapons, to encourage people to come for training. If I had weapons, ammunition and support, I could gather 10,000 fighters."
The commander said the US has never come into contact with him regarding weapons shipments.
"We didn't get anything from the Americans. They don't even contact us," Abu Issa claimed. "We are waiting to be supported."
20-30 US Special Forces to be deployed in Rojava as advisers to Syrian Democratic Forces in fight against ISIS. (Reuters) #TwitterKurds
— Gilgo (@dijraberi) 30 октября 2015
A US military source told McClatchy anonymously, that the American aid is not intended for the Raqqa Revolutionaries.
"He's making a lot of noise," the source reportedly said. "We're working through the Syrian Democratic Forces there."
General Abu Ismaeel of Liwa Thuwwar al-Raqqa, an FSA group fighting alongside YPG in Kobani against ISIS asks immediate help from the US.
— Hamza Kobane حمزة (@sergermed) 4 октября 2014
After this month's 50-ton US airdrop, there have been multiple reports of the Arab units inside the Syrian Democratic Forces not getting anything from the shipment, as the aid is being distributed by the Kurds.
Nonetheless, on Thursday, the Raqqa Revolutionaries' Brigade announced it will stage a ground assault against the IS stronghold of Raqqa.
"We will soon announce the zero hour for the beginning of the battle of liberation from oppression and persecution," Abu Issa said in a YouTube announcement. The video was posted by an activist group known as Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently.
ISIL has captured large areas in Syria and Iraq. Its advance is being countered by bombing campaigns by both a US-led coalition and by Russia following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad on September 30. On the ground, the Syrian army loyal to Assad, opposition factions and the Kurds are also fighting Islamic State militants.
