Syrian rebels

Syrian rebels aim during a weapons training exercise outside Idlib, Syria. (AP Photo)

The loosely-knit coalition of Syrian rebel groups known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), are armed, trained and backed by the U.S. The group is currently engaged in the early stages of battle in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria.
Over the course of the US involvement in Syria, the relative lack of allies has repeatedly been approached the same way by the Pentagon: try to make some.

(ANTIMEDIA) — It’s time to have a sane discussion regarding what is going on in Syria. Things have escalated exponentially over the past month or so, and they continue to escalate. The U.S.

(ANTIWAR) — The Israeli army is in regular contact with Syrian rebel forces, and has been providing them with growing amounts of aid over the course of the Syrian Civil War, not just providing medical aid to the wounded, as has previously been reported, but also giving rebel factions food, fuel, and even money to pay their fighters’ salaries and buy ammunition.

In this April 6, 2017 photo in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Israeli military medics assist wounded Syrians. They are the latest group of Syrian fighters receiving free medical care through an Israeli military program operating since 2013. (AP/Dusan Vranic)

Update: Footage published on Al-Masdar News moments ago appears to show white phosphorus or cluster bombs falling over Raqqa, which are both banned internationally if used on residential areas.

Member of the Free Syrian Army ready a homemade weapon known as a ‘hell cannon’ in the ruins of the city of Aleppo.

Kurdish fighters of the(YPG guard U.S. forces in the northern village of Darbasiyah, Syria, April. 29, 2017. (AP/ APTV)
WASHINGTON, D.C.– On Tuesday, President Donald Trump continued to mimic the Obama administration’s stance on Syria by approving a plan to arm the Syrian Kurdish militia known as the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

A Syrian refugee plays an oud, an Arabic instrument related to the lute, at Kawergost refugee camp in Irbil, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. An estimated 6.8 million Syrians require humanitarian assistance, a number equal to the population of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut combined. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed)
 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrive for a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, March 28, 2017. (Sergei Karpukhin/AP)
Russian, Iran and Turkey have signed a memorandum supporting the creation of Moscow-backed safe zones in Syria.
An AFP reporter at peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana saw the heads of the delegations – who represent the three countries sponsoring the negotiations – sign the document.