Reuters: Syria SNC asks allies for heavy arms

Source: Reuters

Sun Jul 29, 2012 7:42am EDT
(Reuters) - The Syrian opposition appealed on Sunday for its foreign allies to provide with heavy weapons to fight President Bashar al-Assad's "killing machine" and said it would soon start talks on forming a transitional government to replace him.

"The rebels are fighting with primitive weapons. We want weapons that we can stop tanks and planes with. This is what we want," Abdelbasset Sida, head of the Syrian National Council (SNC) opposition alliance, told a news conference.

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INITIAL INVOLVEMENT OF TLAS RULED OUT

Visiting Abu Dhabi to meet United Arab Emirates officials, Sida did not say when exactly a transitional government might be formed, telling the news conference that he had discussed the idea with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan, the UAE's foreign minister.

Last week, Brigadier General Manaf Tlas, one of the highest-ranking defectors to flee Syria, said he would try to help unite Syria's fragmented opposition inside and outside the country in order to agree a roadmap for a power transfer.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/29/syria-crisis-snc-idUSL6E8IT1JY20120729