Turkey is preparing to provide additional financial and medical support to its closest ally in Syria, a group of Free Syrian Army (FSA) militias, in an effort to strengthen it by boosting morale.

The FSA militias fought alongside the Turkish army in Operation Euphrates Shield from August 2016 to March 2017 and are now participating in Operation Olive Branch. Some 614 FSA militants were killed in Euphrates Shield, the campaign to push back Syrian Kurdish and Islamic State forces in northern Syria, and so far 302 have been killed in Olive Branch, launched Jan. 20 against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin.

No reliable polling of Turkish public opinion on the FSA has been published, but the general sentiment toward the Salafi-jihadi elements within the force is not positive. Yet, since Operation Olive Branch, government-friendly Turkish media have made obvious efforts to enhance the FSA's image. Statements by FSA senior officers and tales of bravery by FSA fighters are daily staples. Infographics aimed at highlighting the heroism of FSA members, interviews with commanders and reports of casualties run frequently. 

Pro-government media outlets insist that the FSA has been targeted by external powers in sustained efforts to tarnish its reputation. According to the daily Yeni Safak, “Those who cannot launch campaigns against the successful Olive Branch Operation, against our brave army and the public support of the operation find it easier to criticize the FSA, which has been fighting shoulder to shoulder with our soldiers, and to ignore the public support they are getting.”