Mar 22, 2018

ALEPPO COUNTRYSIDE, Syria — The Syrian opposition is taking steps to police its own army.

The Syrian Interim Government's recently formed National Army will now answer to a 300-member military police force in the Aleppo province of northern Syria, where Turkey conducted its Operation Euphrates Shield with the help of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The 22,000-member National Army is comprised of fighters from about 30 FSA factions.

The new military police force deployed this month and is designed to organize military action, minimize abuses committed against civilians and prosecute opposition military members who commit anything from murder to driving over the speed limit. It also works to prosecute members suspected of belonging to organizations deemed hostile to the FSA, such as the Islamic State (IS) and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

The military police force was formed as an alternative to FSA security forces, as each faction had its own security institution. Based in the city of al-Bab, the force has a military court and two stations, in Jarablus and Azaz.

Al-Monitor toured the Azaz station in the Euphrates Shield area where the military police have erected several checkpoints. The station's 100 policemen wear military uniforms similar to those of the FSA. Turkey has provided them with four-wheel-drive military vehicles as well as medium and light weapons, and they get a monthly salary of $150.