BEWARE OF U.S. GIVING ARMS TO FREE SYRIAN ARMY

FROM THE GUARDIAN

According to a report published in The Guardian, Syria’s main armed opposition group, the Free Syrian Army, is losing fighters who are defecting to the well-armed, al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front. 

 

The Islamist extremist group has been growing in recent months and many had thought this was mostly due to foreign Sunni fighters, hardened by the insurgency after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, crossing the border to join the militants fighting against Shia-aligned President Bashar al-Assad.

 

However, The Guardian now reports that many FSA fighters are joining the al-Nusra Front because of a lack of weapons and ammunition.  According to one FSA brigade commander some 3,000 men have defected in the last few months alone and another estimate says the rebel Free Syrian Army has lost a quarter of its fighters.

 

The defections pose a dilemma for the US, Britain and others as they ponder arming the rebels.  While many analysts fear that weapons provided to Syrian opposition groups may end up in the hands of extremists like the al-Nusra Front, it seems the lack of sufficient weaponry is driving FSA fighters to join the Islamist militants.

 

At the same time, a website affiliated with supporters of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been calling Shiite Muslims to join the fight against the rebel Sunni groups, emphasising the Sectarian nature of the conflict.  The civil war has now raged for more than 2 years, killing more than 70,000 people, and foreign fighters pouring in on both sides of the violence seem set to ensure it continues.