|
Free Syrian Army to Reorganize, Leaders to Relocate to Frontlines
[An Nahar] Syria's largest armed opposition group is undergoing a drastic reorganization and relocating its leadership to rebel-held territory in a bid to win vital international support, a general told Agence La Belle France Presse.Mustafa Sheikh heads the military council that presides over the Free Syrian Army (FSA) but which has been criticized for failing to bring order to a chaotic, umbrella group, some of whose members are implicated in suspected war crimes. Many of the units fighting to bring down  Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... have little military training, are poorly equipped and resentful of the West for refusing to provide it with heavy weapons or implement a no-fly zone. But in an interview with AFP in northern Syria, Sheikh said that in the past 10 days the FSA had started to restructure itself into five divisions -- north, south, east and west, and the coast -- and would elect new leaders. "We are getting closer and closer to becoming organized, so that we can get to a stage that is accepted by the international community," he told AFP. He said the FSA's priorities were organization and securing heavier weapons than the Kalashnikovs and improvised rockets many units currently make do with. "This body will operate in an organized and disciplined manner. When this happens, the international community will know where these weapons are going," he told AFP at a house in a rebel-held area. While he refused to be drawn on contacts with the United States, his remarks dovetail with Washington's efforts to help the opposition unite and its concerns that beturbanned goon Islamist fighters have hijacked the uprising. He said the FSA leadership, based largely in neighboring Turkey, is countering criticism from its rank and file, by relocating around 200 officers -- including himself -- back to "liberated" parts of Syria. "Leaders and officers should not be away from the front, away from their soldiers. It's better to stay, for a better organization, for better morale and for better control on the field, it's preferable," he said. Accurate numbers are impossible to confirm, but Sheikh claimed 70,000 soldiers and 25 percent of the officer class had now defected, although nearly half are in prison. Posted by: Fred 2012-11-10 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=355729 |