Britain seeks to blunt an EU arms embargo against Damascus in order to supply Syria's opposition coalition with non-lethal equipment. Critics of the move, however, have expressed concern that the equipment could fall into other hands.
The UK Foreign Office says Britain will seek an amendment to the embargo next week in a bid to support opponents Syrian President Bashar Assad.
EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the issue in Brussels on Monday. Last week. top EU diplomats agreed to decrease from one year to three months the renewal period for sanctions against Damascus. The moved was seen as a gesture of support for the Syrian rebels.
London said it seeks to ship non-lethal military gear and training to Syria to aid the rebel forces. Currently, body armor and night vision goggles fall under the arms embargo; the new amendment would permit the shipment of those and similar supplies.
UK Minister of State for Europe David Lidington said on Tuesday in a written statement to parliament that, “Having successfully amended the EU arms embargo (and sanctions package) by setting a three-month renewal period, we will make fresh arguments in support of amending the arms embargo ahead of the March 2013 deadline in a way that offers sufficient flexibility to increase practical support to the Syrian opposition.”
An estimated 40,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it began in February 2011.
What really bothers London is that the final recipients may not be the ones the UK has in mind.
Even the Syrian rebels themselves have been voicing concerns that a large number of foreign fighters battling the Assad regime are actually radical Islamists with links to Al Qaeda.
The West has publicly backed the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, a new political opposition group unveiled in Qatar last month. In addition to unifying the Syrian opposition, the coalition was also formed to curb extremism in their ranks.
Throughout the conflict, the Syrian opposition has functioned as a loose network of groups, occasionally antagonistic to each other.
RT 
Al Jazeera English 
Al Jazeera English 
