Ankara opened its border to Syrian rebel forces, namely the Free Syrian Army, in the early stages of the uprising in 2011. But when Assad did not fall, the makeup of the Syrian opposition began to change. Radical groups such as the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra and the Salafist Ahrar al-Sham emerged in 2012. Within a year, jihadist groups dominated the Syrian opposition. Border towns in southeastern #Turkey were effectively a rear guard for some of the rebel units, while foreign fighters streamed into Syria from Turkey. All of this served as a crucible for the rise of the #IslamicState. by Jonathan Schanzer and Merve Tahiroglu FDD Research November 24, 2014
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 11:27:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015