Matthew Feeney
reason.com
December 11, 2013
The U.K. and the U.S. have suspended non-lethal assistance to Assad’s opposition in northern Syria in the wake of fighters from the Islamist Front seizing bases from the Free Syrian Army. As the BBC’s James Reynolds explains, some of the supplies sent by the U.S. and the U.K. could now be in the hands of Islamists:
This year, the US promised to send $250m of non-lethal supplies to the moderates represented by the National Coalition and the Free Syrian Army. The aid is reported to include vehicles, communications equipment and night-vision goggles. This year, the UK has provided more than £20m of non-lethal aid – including communications and search and rescue equipment.
Crucially, some of these supplies may now be with the Islamists. Rebels from the newly formed Islamist Front have taken over warehouses in northern Syria belonging to the FSA. This takeover reflects the growing power of Islamist factions within the Syrian opposition movement.
For this reason, the US and the UK have suspended their delivery of aid. For the White House and for Downing Street, the idea of supporting the Syrian opposition is getting increasingly complicated.
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