In a significant policy shift, the Obama administration said Thursday it would for the first time provide non-lethal aid directly to rebels who are battling to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad, announcing an additional $60 million in assistance to Syria's political opposition.
The modest package of aid to the military wing of the opposition will consist of an as yet undetermined amount of food rations and medical supplies for members of the Free Syrian Army who will be carefully screened to ensure they do not have links to extremists.
The move was announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at an international conference on Syria in Rome, and several European nations are expected in the coming days to take similar steps in working with the military wing of the opposition in order to ramp up pressure on Assad to step down and pave the way for a democratic transition. However, a number of Syrian opposition figures expressed disappointment with the limited assistance.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/01/world/middleeast/us-pledges-60-million-to-syrian-opposition.html?ref=world
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21612130
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-europe-move-expand-role-syrian-conflict-18610860
No comments:
Post a Comment