US doubles nonlethal aid to Syrian fighters

ISTANBUL: The US said yesterday it will double its nonlethal assistance to Syria’s opposition as the rebels’ top supporters vowed to enhance and expand their backing of the two-year battle to oust President Bashar Assad’s regime.
Yet the pledge fell far short of what the opposition had made clear it wanted: weapons and direct military intervention to stop the violence. The Syrian National Coalition had sought drone strikes on sites from which the regime has fired missiles, the imposition of no-fly zones and protected humanitarian corridors to ensure the safety of civilians.
Instead, the Obama administration’s pledged to provide an additional $ 123 million in aid, which may include for the first time armored vehicles, body armor, night vision goggles and other defensive military supplies. It was the only tangible, public offer of new international support as the foreign ministers of the 11 main countries supporting the opposition met in a marathon session in Istanbul.
US Secretary of State John Kerry announced the new package of assistance in a written statement at the conclusion of the conference that began Saturday afternoon and stretched into yesterday.
The additional aid, which brings total non-lethal US assistance to the opposition to $ 250 million since the fighting began, “underscores the United States’ firm support for a political solution to the crisis in Syria and for the opposition’s advancement of an inclusive, tolerant vision for a post-Assad Syria,” he said.
Kerry said a portion of the new money would be used to follow through on President Barack Obama’s recent authorization to expand direct supplies to the Free Syrian Army beyond food and medical supplies to include defensive items. Officials said the exact types of supplies would be decided in consultation with allies and the rebels’ Supreme Military Council.
Kerry also announced nearly $ 25 million in additional food assistance for Syrians who remain inside the country as well as those who have fled to neighboring countries, bringing the total US humanitarian contribution to the crisis to more than $ 409 million.
Meanwhile, Syria’s National Coalition head Ahmad Moaz Al-Khatib has refiled his resignation and an interim leader is being sought, a fellow member and a source close to the main opposition group said yesterday.
Khatib insists on resigning, almost a month after first announcing he was stepping down and two weeks before NC leadership elections are scheduled to take place.
“I can confirm that Ahmad Moaz Al-Khatib has resigned from the presidency,” Coalition member Marwan Hajo told AFP, following a pro-opposition “Friends of Syria” meeting in the Turkish city of Istanbul.