Arm us, Syrian rebels 
urge EU

The call by the Syrian National Coalition followed the EU’s decision earlier this week, under pressure from the French and British Governments, to let the Syrian arms embargo expire, paving the way for individual countries in the 27-member union to send weapons to Assad’s outgunned opponents.

However, the EU decision may have little impact on Syria’s two-year-old conflict, since no single European country is expected to send lethal weapons to the rebels soon.

The Western-backed Syrian opposition coalition urged the EU to back the arms flow and promptly send “specialised weaponry to repel the fierce attacks waged against unarmed civilians” by Assad’s regime, its allies in Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and Iranian backers.

“The Coalition recognizes that this decision is part of many serious efforts by the EU to support the Syrian people throughout the hardships in the uprisings,” it said. “However, despite the importance of this decision, the words must be solidified by action.”

There are deep divisions in the EU over ways to end the bloodshed in Syria, and even Britain and France – who want to arm the rebels – have said they have no immediate plans to do so until diplomacy has been given a chance. The US and Russia are trying to launch Syrian peace talks at a conference in Geneva, possibly next month.

The possibility of an arms race in Syria could overshadow attempts to bring representatives of Assad’s regime and its political opposition to the talks.

Damascus previously said that it would “in principle” attend the Geneva talks. The opposition coalition, which wants Assad to relinquish power ahead of talks, has yet to decide whether to go or not, and despite days of deliberations in Istanbul, the fractured bloc has not come up with a joint decision.