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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US resumes "non-lethal" aid to Syrian opposition
2014-01-29
The United States has restarted deliveries of non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition, officials said Monday, more than a month after Al Qaeda-linked militants seized warehouses and prompted a sudden cutoff of Western supplies to the rebels. The communications equipment and other items are being funneled for now only to non-armed opposition groups, said the US officials.
Because the non-armed opposition would never be forced to help the armed opposition...
But the move nevertheless boosts SyriaÂ’s beleaguered rebels, who saw their international support slide after militants seized bases near the Turkish border that had been under the authority of a key US-backed leader.

It could also be seen as a US reward to the opposition for its participation in ongoing peace talks with President Bashar Al AssadÂ’s government in Geneva.

The US officials said the aid was being sent through Turkey into Syria, with the coordination of the Free Syrian Army’s Supreme Military Council, led by Gen. Salim Idris, a secular-minded, Western-backed moderate. They stressed that the halt in supplies last month was only a “precautionary measure” until the Obama administration could once again verify the security of aid packages.

Items taken in December from the Bab Al Hawa crossing between Syria and Turkey have since been returned, the officials said, and US-supported rebel groups have taken steps to prevent future supplies from being diverted.

Direct, nonlethal US assistance to armed Syrian rebel units could resume soon, US officials said. They provided no indication about the status of lethal assistance such as body armor and ammunition.

Britain also suspended deliveries some six weeks ago and Turkey shut its side of the border as fears over the growing strength of extremists.

The US officials said they resumed deliveries of a range of goods to civilian actors in Syria as early as late December. These included ambulances, garbage trucks, generators, food baskets, school supplies and office equipment. The officials the aid is going to local and provincial councils and civil society groups, and the United States is confident the deliveries are reaching their intended recipients. They stressed US support for the “moderate armed and unarmed opposition remains steadfast.”
Posted by:Steve White

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