Breaking news
United States has started sending light weapons and anti-tank weapons to Syrian rebels 2806133.
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Defence & Security News - United States / Syria |
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| Friday, June 28, 2013 11:15 AM | |||
| United States has started sending light weapons and anti-tank weapons to Syrian rebels. | |||
The
Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA) of United States has started sending
weapons to Jordan with a view to arming small groups of vetted Syrian
rebels within a month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, June
27, 2013. "The CIA is expected to spend up to three weeks bringing
light arms and possibly anti-tank missiles to Jordan," the newspaper
said in its report, citing diplomats and U.S. officials briefed on the
plans. |
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 Syrian rebels have only a few of anti-tank weapons like the Russian-made RPG-7 to fight against Syrian army tanks. |
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"The
agency plans to spend roughly two weeks more vetting an initial group
of fighters and making sure they know how to use the weapons that they
are given, clearing the way for the first U.S.- armed rebels to enter
the fight," the report said.
It said the shipments, training plus a parallel push to mobilize arms deliveries from European and Arab allies are being timed to allow "a concerted push" by the rebels starting by early August, as the rebels are losing ground in their fighting against the government forces. U.S. President Barack Obama authorized the shipment of small arms and ammunition to the Syrian rebels in a new covert plan disclosed earlier this month, in a break with his long-held non- lethal-aid-only policy. Washington
concluded on June 13 that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons,
including the nerve agent sarin, against the rebels, resulting in up to
150 deaths, crossing a "red line" set by Obama in his handling
of the Syrian conflict that has claimed more than 93,000 lives. |
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