Millions of dollars pledged to rebels
Source: Agencies |
April 2, 2012, Monday
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A COALITION of at least 70 countries pledged several million dollars a month yesterday and communications equipment for Syrian rebels and opposition activists, signaling deeper involvement in the conflict.
The shift by the US and its Western and Arab allies toward seeking to sway the military balance in Syria carries regional risks because the crisis there increasingly resembles a proxy conflict that could exacerbate sectarian tensions.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other participants in a meeting on Syria, held in Istanbul, uniformly expressed concern that a peace plan led by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan might backfire, speculating that President Bashar Assad would try to manipulate it to cling to power.
Clinton said she was waiting for Annan's report to the UN Security Council today.
Clinton said Assad may want to wait and see if his forces can crush the opposition. "I think he would be mistaken to believe that," she said. "My reading is that the opposition is gaining in intensity, not losing."
Clinton also said Washington is providing communications equipment to rebels.
The Syrian regime agreed to Annan's plan last week, which calls for an immediate cease-fire. Since then, there have been daily reports of violence.
Conference participants in Istanbul said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries are creating a fund to pay the rebel Free Syrian Army. One delegate said the fund is a "pot of gold" to undermine Assad's army.
The US has not taken a public position on the fund, but appears to have given its tacit support.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said military options might have to be considered if Syria does not cooperate with Annan's plan and the UN Security Council fails to unite in opposition to Assad.
"If the UN Security Council fails once again to bring about its historic responsibility, there will be no other choice than to support the Syrian people's right to self-defense," he said.
The shift by the US and its Western and Arab allies toward seeking to sway the military balance in Syria carries regional risks because the crisis there increasingly resembles a proxy conflict that could exacerbate sectarian tensions.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other participants in a meeting on Syria, held in Istanbul, uniformly expressed concern that a peace plan led by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan might backfire, speculating that President Bashar Assad would try to manipulate it to cling to power.
Clinton said she was waiting for Annan's report to the UN Security Council today.
Clinton said Assad may want to wait and see if his forces can crush the opposition. "I think he would be mistaken to believe that," she said. "My reading is that the opposition is gaining in intensity, not losing."
Clinton also said Washington is providing communications equipment to rebels.
The Syrian regime agreed to Annan's plan last week, which calls for an immediate cease-fire. Since then, there have been daily reports of violence.
Conference participants in Istanbul said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries are creating a fund to pay the rebel Free Syrian Army. One delegate said the fund is a "pot of gold" to undermine Assad's army.
The US has not taken a public position on the fund, but appears to have given its tacit support.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said military options might have to be considered if Syria does not cooperate with Annan's plan and the UN Security Council fails to unite in opposition to Assad.
"If the UN Security Council fails once again to bring about its historic responsibility, there will be no other choice than to support the Syrian people's right to self-defense," he said.
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