Syrian rebels urge US to turn words into action and resume military aid

The Free Syrian Army is seeking the resumption of a suspended CIA military aid program, urging Donald Trump to "turn words into action" and confront what it claims is Iran's expanding "hegemony" in the region, Reuters reports.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), an alliance of anti-government insurgent groupings, is trying to persuade the US to revive the defunct CIA program which provided cash, weapons and instructors to "moderate" rebels, a high-ranking rebel official told the news agency.

Mustafa Sejari, a senior FSA official, said President Trump's decision to suspend the CIA program is only benefiting Iran's efforts to tighten its grip on the region.

Syrian rebels "endorse President Trump's statements about the need to confront Iranian hegemony in the region," but now "it is time to turn words into action," Sejari said. He claimed that...