Turkey, US start training, equipping Syrian rebels

Turkey and the US have started a programme for training and equipping Syrian rebels in Kirsehir province of central Turkey, Turkish daily HaberTurk reported on Tuesday.

"We have started the train-equip programme with a small number (of Syrians). The reason for the delay was logistics, it was about personnel and equipment transferred from the US. Our soldiers and the US soldiers are providing the training," the report quoted Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying.

The programme has been delayed several times since Turkey and the US signed the agreement in February.

The programme aims to train a total of 15,000 Syrian opposition fighters during a three-year period, 5,000 of whom will be trained at Hirfanli military base in Kirsehir.

The trained rebels should enter Syria through a secured area, the minister said, stressing that they could not cross through regions that are controlled by Islamic State (IS) militants, Xinhua news agency reported.

Turkish and the American soldiers, as well as intelligence services, were discussing a secure place, the minister said.

Cavusoglu also reiterated the need for a no-fly zone protection for trained Syrian opposition fighters from airstrikes by the Syrian authorities.

"Will it be a notification or something else, we are technically working on this," he stated.

The Turkish government has long been backing the movement to topple Basher al-Assad's Syrian government, while Damascus slams Ankrara for supporting terrorism in the war-torn country.