Free Syrian Army
© AFP 2017/ Nazeer al-Khatib
Jordan-based Al-Hadath News reported that the Free Syrian Army has recently dissolved one of its units which consisted of 180 fighters. Hussam Shueib, a Syrian expert in militant groups, opined to Sputnik that it was done at the behest of the US and explained why.

The information was also confirmed by the websites of some Syrian military groups which cited one of the fighters of the dissolved units as saying that 180 militants have been dismissed and paid $2,000 each.

Hussam Shueib, a Syrian expert in militant groups, has commented to Sputnik Arabic on the move, suggesting that it was done on the order of the US, which is "experiencing disappointment" over the failure of the FSA support campaign.

"We now see that Daesh (ISIS) and other similar armed units are being defeated on all the fronts while the Syrian government army is steadily advancing. The US now needs a new tool for its military operations," he told Sputnik.

The expert further surmised that "the US decision to dissolve the FSA unit wasn't done for the sake of the fight against terrorism." What the US is intended to do however is to "unleash a new spiral of tension" aimed at undermining peace talks in Geneva and Astana and at disrupting the first congress of Syrian peoples which is being held in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"Washington is now supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as it is almost its last ally in the north of Syria. First, they have close connections with the Kurds. Second, they pose themselves as a secular organization and oppose the Syrian government. And third, they are able to take control of the north of the country and break up Syria," he explained.

Hussam Shueib also pointed out that SDF have proven that they can take Daesh' place, for example, in Raqqa. Therefore the US is not creating a positive image of SDF through its mass media, claiming that it is quite a numerous force which has "genuine representatives of the Syrian peoples in its ranks."

The SDF, however, are not being welcomed either by Syrians or by the Syrian Kurds. Nevertheless, the US is pinning its hopes on these forces, expecting them to be able to fight against the Syrian army and its allies, he concluded.