US Plans to Arm Rebels in Syria With Missiles

Turkish convoys heading towards the Syrian border with tanks and other military equipment. Turkey, a member of NATO, has been accused of arming rebels fighting the government in Damascus., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

US plans to arm Syrian insurgents with missiles: Report

Mon Aug 13, 2012 5:25PM GMT
presstv.ir

The mission of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her recent visit to Turkey was to supply the Syrian insurgents with anti-aircraft equipment and missiles, a report says.

According to a report published on August 12 by the newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s achievements on the ground against the insurgents in Aleppo have frustrated both Ankara and Washington.

The report added that, the US is trying to establish a no-fly zone in Syria in order to weaken the Syrian army’s air force. However, they will not succeed.

Considering the situation, the US tries to supply the Syrian insurgents with anti-aircraft equipment and Stinger missiles, the report said.

Clinton and the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held a joint press conference in Istanbul on Saturday. the US official said Washington will "hasten the end of… the Assad regime."

Meanwhile, the Turkish foreign minister stated that in his meeting with the US secretary of state the two sides discussed the ways of assisting the opposition inside Syria.

"We need to take joint efforts to prevent a power vacuum from being formed," Davutoglu said.

Turkish military has recently equipped insurgents fighting against the Syrian government with surface-to-air Stinger missiles during a brief incursion into the Syrian soil.

The NBC News reported on July 31 that nearly two dozen MANPADs (man-portable air-defense systems) have been delivered to the insurgents in Syria by Turkey.

Turkish media have also reported that Clinton pledged that Washington will give anti-aircraft missiles to insurgents in Syria during her visit to Turkey.

Syria has been the scene of deadly unrest since mid-March, 2011 and many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the armed militants are foreign nationals.