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Turkmen Leader Tells Sputnik Why Capture of Daesh-Held Border Town Matters

© AFP 2023 / BARAA AL-HALABIA Free Syrian Army fighter. file photo
A Free Syrian Army fighter. file photo - Sputnik International
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The Free Syrian Army won back the strategic border town of Cobanbey in Aleppo province from Daesh terrorists, an event of paramount importance, according to Tarik Sulo Cevizci, deputy chairman of the Syrian Turkmen National Movement Party.

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In an interview with Sputnik's Turkish edition, Tarik Sulo Cevizci, deputy head of the Syrian Turkmen National Movement Party, underscored the significance of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) retaking the key border town of Cobanbey from Daesh.

Located in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo on the border with Turkey, Cobanbey came under the control of the FSA in 2012, but was seized by Daesh in 2014.

"The town of Cobanbey has been liberated from Daesh terrorists. Earlier this week, the FSA's nine units took full control of the town, where restoration works are currently under way," Cevizci said.

He specifically stressed the importance of the FSA winning back the town.

"The liberation of Cobanbey is a significant event because the town is strategically located on the border with Turkey in the triangle between the Syrian cities of Jarabulus, Azaz and Al-Bab," he pointed out.

© REUTERS / Alaa Al-FaqirFree Syrian Army fighters walk with their weapons in the Daraa countryside September 9, 2015
Free Syrian Army fighters walk with their weapons in the Daraa countryside September 9, 2015 - Sputnik International
Free Syrian Army fighters walk with their weapons in the Daraa countryside September 9, 2015

Although most of Syria's border with Turkey is controlled by Kurdish YPG forces and militant groups in Idlib province which are party to the Russia-US-brokered ceasefire agreement with Assad's government, the region between the area immediately to the east of the border town of Cobaney and Jarabulus on the west bank of the Euphrates River remains in Daesh hands.

This corridor, Daesh's principal supply line, has become notorious as the terrorist group has used it to export oil and plundered historical artifacts to Turkey while taking in fresh recruits.

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A military operation to liberate Cobanbey was launched early this week by the FSA units supported by Turkish artillery and the US-led anti-terrorist coalition. Kurdish forces were warned by Ankara that it would retaliate if they attempted to cross the Euphrates into Daesh-held territory last fall.

The FSA is one of the groups labeled a "moderate" opposition faction by the West. Although it often features in the Western press, it has dwindled in relevance since the beginning of the conflict as violent Islamist groups came to dominate the forces opposed to Assad's government.

Washington trained and equipped a few hundred FSA-associated forces in the hope that they would counter Daesh, but subsequently shut down this program in October 2015 after spending almost 500 million dollars without any tangible results.

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