Obama Authorizes U.S. Planes to Support Friendly Rebels

U.S. president Barack Obama has authorized warplanes to defend U.S.-backed Syrian rebels if they come under attack.

A White House National Security Council spokesperson, Alistair Baskey, would not elaborate on the specifics of the new rules of engagement.

However, Baskey did say the White House would “take the steps necessary to ensure that these forces could successfully carry out their mission” and that the support would include “defensive fires support to protect” the Pentagon-trained force, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal and other media said the decision ended a months-long debate within the administration over the role of the U.S. military in supporting its Syrian allies.

The U.S.-trained rebels are supposed to fight the Islamic State, but observers also noted the decision raises the risk of Americans coming into direct conflict with President Bashar al-Assad’s military for the first time.

The decision comes after the highly embarrassing revelation last week that a group of the U.S.-trained rebels called Division 30 had been kidnapped by the Nusra Front. The expensive program to train and equip the rebels has been struggling to attract recruits and only 60 rebels have completed the training, in part over concerns about U.S. support when things get tough.

The White House decision also follows an agreement between the U.S. and Turkey to strengthen cooperation against ISIS in northern Syria. Turkish officials, who want to clear a long border zone, have urged the U.S. to step up its defense of its allies in the area.

U.S.-Backed Rebels Flee Headquarters

In a related development, the Division 30 rebel faction trained by the U.S. military fled their headquarters over the weekend, ending clashes with the Nusra Front, activists said.

The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the group had moved to a nearby area controlled by a Syrian Kurdish militia. Another activist confirmed to the Associated Press that about 30 Division 30 fighters had withdrawn from their headquarters.

Division 30 is believed to have some 60 fighters. In fighting with the Nusra Front at its headquarters near the northern town of Azaz on Friday, 5 of its fighters were killed and another 18 wounded, according to the activists.

The fighting erupted days after the Nusra Front detained several members of Division 30, including its commander Col. Nadim al-Hassan.

It also came after Turkey and the U.S. announced the outlines of an agreement to clear a northern border region of the Islamic State to make space for more moderate rebel groups backed by Washington and Ankara.

Fighting Rages Near Assad Heartland

Fierce fighting erupted over the weekend between Syrian troops backed by Hezbollah and rebels, in the Sahl al-Ghab region of central Hama province, near Assad’s heartland of Latakia.

A rebel alliance including al-Qaida’s Syria affiliate, Nusra Front, launched an offensive against Sahl al-Ghab, threatening several pro-Assad Alawite villages, Agence France-Presse reported, quoting the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The rebel alliance, Army of Conquest, seized more than a dozen strategic hilltops and other positions, including a power plant, before being pushed out by pro-government forces, according to the Observatory.

“In the past three days, the army has been able to take back nearly 50 percent of the areas it had lost,” the Observatory told the news agency.

It added that in the three days of clashes at least 73 rebels and 42 pro-government forces, including Hezbollah fighters and members of the National Defence Forces militia allied with the government, had been killed.

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