The Free Syrian Army (FSA) is a fighting force composed of Syrians that oppose the Assad regime and are trying to rid their land of tyranny and injustice.

They are not a band of hoodlums or terrorists. They are a fighting force who are as legitimate as any other fighting force currently operating in the Syrian civil war.

There are all kinds of militia forces in Syria today, some which are the offshoots of terrorist groups, but in today's Syria the Free Syrian Army is one of the few that has not been involved in violent acts against civilian Syrian citizens.

The force was small, fighting when Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in August 2016 to wipe out the Daesh terrorists. At first the FSA was only about 2,000 to 3,000 men who joined forces with the elite Turkish army units to battle Daesh and force them out of an area of 2,000 square kilometers. Once Operation Euphrates Shield came to a successful end, the FSA lost 600 fighters and hundreds of others were wounded. The Turkish Army lost 71 soldiers. So in total we had 671 martyrs. This is the massive sacrifice the FSA forces made.

Operation Euphrates Shield was an eye opener to all the opposition forces in Syria. They realized that with proper backing they could fight the enemy and be successful. They rallied around Turkey and the ranks of the FSA swelled. Turkey observed the shortcomings of this fighting force and set up facilities inside Syria to train these fighters and equip them with effective weapons. At the end of the day there were 20,000 well equipped and properly trained fighters, which are now being deployed to push the PKK out of Afrin.

These Syrians have not hesitated to shed their blood for the cause of wiping out Daesh and the PKK. They have fought shoulder to shoulder with our soldiers "the Mehmetçik" and they have never let us down.

The Middle East is a place where politics and alliances are like shifting sand. Intrigue and sedition is part of daily life. So, there will be those who will try to divide the Free Syrian Army with intrigue as they see it as an immediate threat for themselves. The Americans, the PKK, the other Syrians and many others are extremely unhappy that Turkey has managed to assemble a viable fighting force of Syrians and will do everything to destroy it.

So when we hear the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) spokesmen make statements that actually lend support to those who want to destroy the FSA and thus deal a blow to Turkey, we are deeply saddened.

The CHP and its leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu talks highly of the Assad regime which has killed hundreds and thousands of its own people in the current civil war. In fact, the main opposition party should have highlighted the atrocities of Assad, but instead they are condemning the FSA.

The CHP pretends to support Operation Olive Branch in Afrin but tries to make a smokescreen by criticizing Turkey for using Free Syrian Army fighters against the PKK terrorists. This really smells of sabotage at the highest degree. It is also an insult to the 600 martyrs that the FSA suffered during Operation Euphrates Shield.

Of course Turkey will have its own allies in Syria and of course Turkey will give them a helping hand as they also help us out. Welcome to the world of reality.