WorldMiddle East

Actions

In Syria, US-Backed Rebels Are Fighting … Other US-Backed Rebels

The Liberation Army FSA is backed by the U.S. The Syrian Democratic Forces are also backed by the U.S. And now, they're fighting each other.
Posted at
and last updated

These are U.S.-backed Syrian rebels.

This flag belongs to another U.S.-backed group, the Syrian Democratic Forces.

They're fighting each other in northern Syria.

This shows how much of a mess Syria's front lines are right now.

Turkey's backing the Syrian rebels, too. It helped them seize the ISIS border town of Jarabulus. 

SEE MORE: How Many ISIS Fighters Are There? It's Hard To Tell

The rebels almost immediately clashed with the U.S.-backed SDF just south of Jarabulus. 

The SDF had recently liberated the important city of Manbij from ISIS.

So, while ISIS is their enemy … the SDF and rebels are each other's enemy, too.

The U.S. is on the fence. As a NATO ally, it supports Turkey, which supports the rebel groups. But the U.S. also supports the SDF, which has been enormously successful fighting ISIS.