Türkiye kicks off training of Syrian troops: Ministry

ANKARA

A first batch of Syrian military students will begin their courses on Oct. 31 in various Turkish military institutions, the Defense Ministry has announced, in line with a bilateral agreement that stipulates increasing the security capacity of the new Syrian army.

“Within the scope of the ‘Joint Training and Consultancy Memorandum of Understanding’ signed within the framework of close cooperation aimed at increasing Syria’s defense and security capacity, 49 Syrian students [10 Land, 18 Naval, 21 Air] are planned to begin training at our War Academies tomorrow,” ministry spokesman Zeki Aktürk told a weekly press conference on Oct. 30.

Türkiye and Syria signed the memorandum of understanding in August as part of enhanced military and security cooperation following the start of a new era in the latter. Within the frame of this agreement, the process of the restructuring of the Syrian Armed Forces has accelerated and training, consultancy, technical support and exchange of study visits have begun, according to ministry sources.

The agreement was signed upon the request of the new Syrian government with the objective of restructuring a national army capable of providing security across the country’s lands.

The sources have informed that the training of Syrian troops in various military facilities of Türkiye has already begun. They did not give exact number of troops deployed to Türkiye for training purposes.

Türkiye and Syria have developed their ties in all fields, including security and defense, since the fall out of the Assad regime in December 2024.

On Syria, another important issue that Türkiye is closely following is the implementation of March 10 agreement between the Damascus administration and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which obliges the latter to integrate its troops with the central army.

HH Türkiye closely follows SDF’s integration with national army

There are reports that the talks between the two sides have recently improved and three divisions of the SDF will be integrated into the national army soon.

Türkiye considers the SDF, whose backbone is composed of the YPG, a terror group and underlines it has no place in the new Syria. The sources, therefore, stressed that “Türkiye is closely and sensitively following the issues regarding the SDF’s integration with the Syrian government.”

Türkiye argues that the SDF is trying to divide Syria through the support it gathers from international powers, including the United States and Israel. The SDF has been partnering with the U.S. as a local force in the continued fight against ISIL. It also controls and monitors the prisons in which around 10,000 members are kept and the camps in which around 50,000 family members of the inmates are being sheltered.

Türkiye calls on the U.S. to abandon this partnership with the SDF and pave the way for regional powers to handle the fight against ISIL.