Will French Intelligence Agents Be Training Syrian Deserters?

According to Le Canard enchaîné, French agents are now in Lebanon and Turkey “for the mission to build the first contingents of the Free Syrian Army.”

French intelligence agents have been sent to northern Lebanon and Turkey to build the first contingents of the Free Syrian Army out of the deserters who have fled Syria, says the 23 November issue of Le Canard enchaîné.  “Several members of the covert action section of the General Directorate for External Security (DGSE) and the Special Operations Command (COS) are already in Turkey, ready, upon receiving the order, to train these Syrian deserters for urban guerrilla warfare,” according to the weekly.

“A proxy war against Bashar?” asks Le Canard.  “It’s not about repeating what happened in Libya,” insists a high-ranking officer in the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM), who adds: “But it’s the French and the British who made the initial contacts with the rebels.”

According to the weekly, it’s a “limited intervention prepared by the NATO” that is being planned.  “Support for the civilian and military rebellion, presentation of a resolution to the UN General Assembly, the smuggling of weapons across Syrian borders, necessary contacts with Washington via the NATO . . . such are the issues under discussion among Paris, London, and Ankara,” Le Canard points out.


The text above is a translation of the key paragraphs of “La DGSE va-t-elle former les déserteurs syriens ?” published in Le Nouvel Observateur on 22 November 2011.  Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com).




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