SMC fighters were reportedly "asked" to leave Bab al-Hawa by the Islamic Front
The US and UK have suspended all "non-lethal" support for rebels in northern Syria, but not humanitarian aid.
A
US spokesman said it was concerned about reports that Islamist rebels
had seized bases belonging to the Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Fighters
from the Islamic Front, a new alliance of rebel groups, ousted
FSA-aligned fighters from the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey
last week.
The non-lethal aid includes medicine, vehicles and communications equipment.
The
US and European countries have been reluctant to supply weapons and
ammunition directly to rebel groups in Syria because of concerns that
they might end up in the possession of jihadists affiliated to al-Qaeda.
However, they have reportedly facilitated secret arms shipments.
The
US and the UK face a fundamental problem in Syria - how can they
support the moderate Syrian opposition without also, indirectly,
supporting the increasingly powerful Islamist opposition?
This
year, the US promised to send $250m of non-lethal supplies to the
moderates represented by the National Coalition and the Free Syrian
Army. The aid is reported to include vehicles, communications equipment
and night-vision goggles. This year, the UK has provided more than £20m
of non-lethal aid - including communications and search and rescue
equipment.
Crucially, some of these supplies may now be with the
Islamists. Rebels from the newly formed Islamist Front have taken over
warehouses in northern Syria belonging to the FSA. This takeover
reflects the growing power of Islamist factions within the Syrian
opposition movement.
For this reason, the US and the UK have
suspended their delivery of aid. For the White House and for Downing
Street, the idea of supporting the Syrian opposition is getting
increasingly complicated.
'Investigation'
White
House spokesman Josh Earnest confirmed the US had "suspended all
further deliveries of non-lethal assistance into northern Syria" as a
result of events at Bab al-Hawa.
But he stressed that humanitarian aid was not affected by the decision.
UK
Foreign Office Minister Hugh Robertson told the BBC that "as far as we
know at the moment" no British equipment had passed into the hands of
Islamist militants, but he added: "It does make sense to suspend that
aid until we know exactly what's happened."
The FSA said the
suspension was a mistake. "We hope our friends will rethink and wait for
a few days when things will be clearer," spokesman Louay Meqdad was
quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.
Last month, seven leading
rebel groups - the Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam, Suqour al-Sham, Liwa
al-Tawhid, Liwa al-Haqq, Ansar al-Sham and the Kurdish Islamic Front -
declared that they were forming the largest alliance yet in the 33-month
conflict, with an estimated 45,000 fighters.
They said the new
Islamic Front was an "independent political, military and social
formation" that aimed to topple President Bashar al-Assad's government
and build an Islamic state.
The front does not include al-Qaeda
affiliates like the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and the
al-Nusra Front, but its charter welcomes "muhajirin", or foreign
fighters, as "brothers who supported us in jihad", and suggests it is
willing to co-operate with them.
Read More Here
.....
U.S. And U.K. Suspend Nonlethal Aid To Syrian Rebels
NewsyWorld
.....
US Suspends Non-lethal Aid to Syrian Rebels
Covert US War Hands Syria to Al Qaeda
By
Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall
According to the BBC, both the US and Britain have suspended “non-lethal” aid to northern Syria. The decision follows the seizure of Western-backed Free Syrian Army bases by Islamist rebels.
Last week, fighters from the Islamic Front ousted FSA-aligned
fighters from the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey. The Islamic
Front is a new alliance of rebel fighters dedicated to creating an
Islamic state in Syria. The front does not include al-Qaeda affiliates
like the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and the al-Nusra
Front, but its charter welcomes “muhajirin”, or foreign fighters and
expresses willingness to co-operate with them.
During the raid, the Islamic Front took over FSA warehouses believed
to contain vehicles, communications equipment, and night-vision goggles
donated by the US and Britain.
In the past few months, the foreign fighters in ISIS have also been making
news by shooting and beheading FSA fighters and civilians linked to the Syrian opposition.
Read More Here
.....
