The battle for northern Aleppo has recently intensified between the Turkish-backed rebels and their current adversaries from the predominately Kurdish “People’s Protection Units” (YPG); however, not many observers would have predicted the all-out war taking place between these once civil factions.

It is bad enough that these factions are fighting one another in northern Syria; but, to make it even more interesting, the Free Syrian Army’s 13th Division (Turkish backed) fired a U.S. manufactured TOW missile at an armored vehicle belonging to the U.S. backed “Syrian Democratic Forces” (YPG ally) in the Aleppo Governorate’s northern countryside.

Yes, the Turkish-backed “moderate rebels” that were once visited by U.S. Senator John McCain in northern Syria are now firing U.S. manufactured missiles at the U.S.-backed rebels.

While these missiles were most likely delivered to the Turkish-backed rebels by their Gulf allies (specifically Saudi Arabia), the U.S. government is not ignorant to the weapon transfers taking place inside Syria; especially, when they involve weapons that were manufactured in the U.S.

However, this does raise a few questions: why do opposing rebel groups have access to these advanced missiles? and what is the U.S. doing to limit the transfer of these weapons to extremist groups?

The Turkish-backed rebels are fighting side-by-side with radical groups that are designated as “terrorist organizations” by the U.S. State Department; yet, the U.S. is unable to halt the distribution of their weapons to Jihadist factions like Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham.

However, there is not much the U.S. can do anymore, as their Gulf allies have invested too much time and money in proliferating weapons to groups that fall short of being considered “moderate”.

All the U.S. government can do now is watch this comedy of errors from afar.