Syrian Rebels Claim to Receive Battle Training on Turkish Border

Fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) leave the Apaydın camp in the southern province of Hatay after daybreak to cross the border into Syria and fight the Al-Assad regime, only to return back to the camp toward evening, Abu Hussein, the commander of an FSA unit, told bianet.

"We are deeply thankful to the Turkish government and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for receiving us with open arms," said Abu Hussein, who commands about 50 troops.

Government officials announced that the Apaydın camp in Hatay's Antakya district hosts officers of the Syrian army who deserted the Al-Assad regime and declared the camp to be an area prohibited to entry on due to reasons of security.

The officials, however, are yet to offer an explanation about the domestic or international legal foundations on which the camp was established.

Official statements also indicated the inhabitants of the camp were Syrian army deserters, for which reason their names had to remain confidential.

The question of whether the Syrian Army actually has no clue about the identities of its deserting troops or not, however, still continues to linger in the air.

As such, questions about the exact difference between residents of the Apaydın camp and the inhabitants of other refugee camps also warrant a reply.

Whether all the camp dwellers in Apaydın are of Syrian extraction, of if they also include others coming from countries such as Tunisia, Yemen, Chechnya and Afghanistan is yet another question that needs to be answered.

The public continues to wonder about the circumstances under which the camp dwellers cross into Syria through border controls, how many Syrians have come to Turkey under the status of refugees, how many of them cross the border and how often.

And what does the government have to say regarding the allegations that these troops go to war into Syria in the morning and arrive back in the camp in Turkey at night?

Has Parliament ever taken up the issue of establishing a camp under such a status?

Turkey's sights, therefore, are fixed on the "Apaydın Accomodation Facilities."

A confirmed military encampment

"Civilian and military refugees have different statuses. The [refugees'] approval is also required to enter military encampments. It is normal for those taking refuge as security forces to be subject to special treatment," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Monday after a delegation of the opposition People's Republican Party (CHP) was denied access into the camp.

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç also said the camp's inhabitants included Syrian army deserters and their families, for which reason politicians were banned from entering the camp to protect their lives. "This includes generals, and colonels [for instance,]" he added.

Hatay Governor Celalettin Lekesiz also echoed the deputy prime minister's statement and said Syrian soldiers and their families fleeing from Al-Assad had taken refuge in the camp.

"News reports indicating that Syrian rebels are receiving training in the Apaydın camp, and that Syrians are in control [there,] are out of line with reality," the Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) also commented on the issue.

"Made it alive by crossing the border into Turkey"

"There is military training in the camp where we are staying at, but the Turkish government does not allow us to roam about with arms," Abu Hussein told bianet.

"We come and leave Turkey on a daily basis. We are staying at a tent camp right across the other side of the border. [We] go to war in the morning and return to the camp toward evening. We can cross the border with no difficulty," he said.

"Turkey provides logistical support for us. Turkey is covering for our needs of food, drinks and medicine. We are also receiving aid from other countries, too. Our current goal is to form a buffer zone in İdlib, which is an area close to the border," Abu Hussein said.

"The Syrian Army besieged us on the Syrian side three days ago. We made it alive by crossing into the Turkish side of the border. If the regime falls, then we want to build a free country. We want to establish a system like in Turkey," he added. (AS)