U.S. will give Syrian rebels medical, food aid, not arms [View all]
Source: REUTERS
- The United States will send non-lethal aid directly to Syrian rebels for the first time, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday, disappointing opponents of President Bashar al-Assad who are demanding Western weapons.
More than 70,000 Syrians have been killed in a devastating conflict that began with peaceful anti-Assad protests nearly two years ago. Some 860,000 have fled abroad and several million are displaced within the country or need humanitarian assistance.
Kerry, speaking in Rome after a meeting of the mainly Western and Arab "Friends of Syria" group said his country would more than double its aid to the Syrian civilian opposition, giving it an extra $60 million to help provide security.
The United States would now "extend food and medical supplies to the opposition, including to the Syrian opposition's Supreme Military (Council)," Kerry said.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/28/us-syria-crisis-us-idUSBRE91R0KM20130228
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