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Western plans to train and equip non-jihadi rebels in Syria will not start until at least late February, a leading opposition figure said Friday, depriving them of support they need to counter both rival insurgents and Syrian government forces, Reuters reported.

The relatively moderate rebels loosely grouped under the "Free Syrian Army" label are struggling to hold their ground against much more militant groups such as ISIS and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front and against government forces.

A U.S.-led coalition is bombing ISIS, which has seized swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq. The West is also opposed to President Bashar Assad, though he has defied their demands to quit since Syria's civil war erupted in 2011.

Hadi al-Bahra, head of the Turkey-based Syrian opposition National Coalition, said the United States and its allies needed to find ways of increasing help to the moderate rebels.

"The issue is that the developing policies and procedures of putting this program into operation take a very long time," he said after meeting Denmark's foreign minister in Copenhagen.

"It is expected to start by the end of February or end of March, which is a very long time to leave the Free Syrian Army at current level of assistance."