Syrian Rebels Supplied Arms by the US and its
allies
From the very beginning apprehensions were expressed that
Syrian rebels were getting arms from outside. The critics also said that after
demolishing Syrian regime ‑ which enjoys cordial relationship with Iran ‑ the
next target will be Pakistan and then Iran would be attached.
Some of the critics attributed this to ‘provoking anti US sentiments’
and alleviating Pakistan’s stature. However, the time has proved that this
belief was right and that the rebels are fighting proxy war of United Sates in
Syria.
According to a report published in The Washington Post rebel
advances in Syria are being fueled by an influx of heavy weaponry by outside
powers. The new armaments, including anti-tank weapons and recoilless rifles,
have been sent into the province of Daraa to support the groups fighting in the
south.
The arms are the first heavy weapons known to have been
supplied by outside powers to the rebels battling to topple President Bashar
al-Assad against whom the uprising began two years ago. However, the rebels
have remained mostly unsuccessful as the encounters spread over two years failed
to yield any results.
According to The Washington Post, the officials declined to
identify the source of the newly provided weapons, but they noted that those
most closely involved in supporting the rebels’ campaign to oust Assad have
grown increasingly alarmed at the soaring influence of Islamists over the
fragmented rebel movement.
The supporters are believed to the United States and its
major European allies, along with Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, and
Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the two countries most directly involved in supplying
the rebels. It is on record that security officials from those nations have
formed a security coordination committee that consults regularly on events in
Syria.
Although, the Obama administration continues to refuse to
directly arm the rebels, the administration has provided intelligence
assistance to those who are involved in the supplies, and it also helps vet
opposition forces. Though US officials declined to comment on the new armaments
but those who had followed uprising in Libya don’t rule out such an
arrangement.
It is believed that the objective of these renewed
deliveries is to reverse the unintended effect of an effort last summer to
supply small arms and ammunition to rebel forces in the north that was halted
after it became clear that radical Islamists were emerging as the chief
beneficiaries.
According to The Washington Post report Louay al-Mokdad, the
political and media coordinator for the Free Syrian Army, confirmed that the rebels
have procured new weapons donated from outside Syria, rather than bought on the
black market or seized during the capture of government facilities, the source
of the vast majority of the arms that are in the hands of the rebels. But he
declined to say who was behind the effort.
Though, strict secrecy is maintained and even those
receiving the weapons can’t say with certainty who is supplying these, it is
widely assumed that the arms are being provided by Saudi Arabia, with the
support of its Arab allies, United States and some European countries.
According to the report, despite full secrecy being
maintained arms influx was publicized by Eliot Higgins, a British blogger who
uses the name Brown Moses and who tracks rebel activity by watching videos
rebel units post on YouTube.
In a series of blogs, he noted the appearance in rebel hands
of new weapons that almost certainly could not have been captured from
government arsenals. They include M-79 anti-tank weapons and M-60 recoilless
rifles dating back to the existence of Yugoslavia in the 1980s that the Syrian
government does not possess.
He also noted that most of the recipients of the arms appear
to be secular or moderate Islamist units of the Free Syrian Army. In a sign of
how organized the effort is, he said, one of the recent videos shows
members of the local Fajr al-Islam brigade teaching other rebels how to use
some of the new weapons.
The M-79 anti-tank weapons in particular appear to be giving
the rebels new confidence to attack government positions and armor, said Jeff
White of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who says he also noted
the unexpected appearance of the weapons in rebel videos several weeks ago.
The rebels have also been asking for anti-aircraft missiles
to counter the government’s use of air power against their strongholds. But
there has been no indication that they are acquiring those in significant
quantities outside the few they have captured from government bases.
The real
aim of the international effort is to provide the rebels with just enough
firepower to pressure Assad into accepting a negotiated settlement but
not enough to enable them to overthrow him.
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