Clashes between Syrian fighters pose challenge for Turkey, U.S.

Reuters ^ | December 6th, 2015 | By John Davison and Suleiman Al-Khalid

[Mariner]

Groups that have received support from the United States or its allies have turned their guns on each other in a northern corner of Syria, highlighting the difficulties of mobilizing forces on the ground against Islamic State.

As they fought among themselves before reaching a tenuous ceasefire on Thursday, Islamic State meanwhile edged closer to the town of Azaz that was the focal point of the clashes near the border with Turkey.

Combatants on one side are part of a new U.S.-backed alliance that includes a powerful Kurdish militia, and to which Washington recently sent military aid to fight Islamic State.

Their opponents in the flare-up include rebels who are widely seen as backed by Turkey and who have also received support in a U.S.-backed aid program.

Despite the ceasefire, reached after at least a week of fighting in which neither side appeared to have made big gains, trust remains low: each side blamed the other for the start of fighting and said it expected to be attacked again. A monitoring group reported there had still been some firing.

[Mariner]

Turkey's terrorists killing US-backed Kurds in Syria.

While allowing ISIS to re-take territory.

Of course, everyone knows Turkey's sponsored terrorists are allies with ISIS, and many with rifles on the ground fight under both banners.

What will Turkey do when Syria and Russia execute their long-planned offensive in Idlib?

[Repeal The 17th]

It is hard to decide which pack of wild dogs to root for.