Game changer: US to arm Syrian fighters

The US is considering a no-fly zone in Syria, Western diplomats said yesterday, after the White House said Syria had crossed a "red line" by using nerve gas.
After months of deliberation, President Barack Obama's administration said it would now arm opposition fighters, having obtained proof the Syrian government used chemical weapons against fighters trying to overthrow President Bashar Assad.
Imam and Khatib at the Grand Mosque Sheikh Saud Al-Shoraim exhorted the faithful to make extra efforts to eradicate the hostile forces against the freedom fighters in Syria. “The responsibility is now on the shoulders of all Muslim leaders, rulers, scholars, thinkers and the common people to join forces against oppression of our Syrian brothers,” he said yesterday.
The White House said yesterday it would be dramatically more difficult and costly to set up a no-fly zone over Syria than it was in Libya, stressing that the US does not have a national interest in pursuing that option.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is, however, opposing the US decision to arm the fighters.