Syria 'friends' to debate rebel support in Qatar

June 22, 2013

Foreign ministers of the Friends of Syria group of nations, which support the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, are due to meet in Qatar. The meeting comes a week after the US announced it would provide Syrian rebels with "direct military aid". That decision followed what the US said was evidence of small-scale chemical weapon attacks by the government. On Friday, rebels said they had received new weapons that could lead to "changes" in the civil war. However, a spokesman for the rebel Free Syrian Army said they had not come from the US. "We've received quantities of new types of weapons, including some that we asked for and that we believe will change the course of the battle on the ground," FSA spokesman Louay Muqdad told AFP news agency. The Friends of Syria group includes the US, Britain, France and Germany as well as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. A spokesperson for the US state department said that Saturday's meeting would be focused on how the international community could support the Syrian opposition to make it "more cohesive, more representative and more credible inside Syria". Correspondents say also on the agenda will be how to help the Free Syrian Army defend the northern city of Aleppo - the last major rebel stronghold. Rebels have suffered a recent series of military setbacks. They are also besieged on the outskirts of Damascus by government forces that have begun to regain the upper hand. The Friends of Syria group was set up in response to moves by Russia and China to block UN resolutions on Syria. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin again warned the West against arming the Syrian opposition. Speaking in St Petersburg during a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, he said he feared a "political void" would be filled by "terrorist organisations" if Mr Assad were to leave power. More than 90,000 people have lost their lives in more than two years of conflict, the UN estimates. The Damascus government says it is fighting foreign-backed "terrorists". culled from BBC