Syria has become the "top destination for jihadists" across the world, William Hague said on Wednesday, announcing that Britain will give the opposition "non-lethal" military equipment for the first time.
A video posted on the internet showed the gunmen, claiming to be Syrian rebels, standing next to UN-marked vehicles Photo: Reuters
By David Blair
6:47PM GMT 06 Mar 2013
The Foreign Secretary promised another £13 million of British help for opponents of President Bashar al-Assad, on top of £9.4 million already committed.
While no weapons or ammunition will be supplied, Britain has secured an amendment of the European Union arms embargo to allow the provision of certain kinds of military equipment.
In particular, armoured cars and body armour will now be given to the opposition. "Our policy has to move towards more active efforts to prevent the loss of life in Syria and this means stepping up our support to the opposition," said Mr Hague in the Commons. The aim was to increase the "pressure on the regime to accept a political solution".
Mr Hague's statement came as the United Nations confirmed that 20 peacekeepers from the Philippines had been detained by armed fighters in a Syrian-controlled area of the Golan Heights. A video posted on the internet showed the gunmen, claiming to be Syrian rebels, standing next to UN-marked vehicles.
Earlier, the UN announced that over one million refugees have fled Syria, filling to capacity camps in all the neighbouring countries, including Iraq. Mr Hague gave warning that Syria's civil war could threaten British national security because Islamist fighters were flocking to the country. "Syria today has become the top destination for jihadists anywhere in the world," said Mr Hague. "We cannot allow Syria to become another breeding ground for terrorists who pose a threat to our national security."
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Syrian refugees at the Al Zaatri refugee camp in Mafraq, Jordan (Reuters)
Mr Assad's secular regime, dominated by the Alawite sect of Shia Islam, is a bitter foe of Sunni extremism. As the conflict continues, the opposition is becoming steadily more religious and radical. Last year, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the al-Qaeda leader, publicly called for Mr Assad to be overthrown. Western governments fear that if they fail to help the opposition, its mainstream leadership will be overtaken by extremists.
Hundreds of British passport-holders are believed to have travelled to Syria in order to fight against Mr Assad. Some are already known to the British authorities for their extremist sympathies. By offering more British help, Mr Hague wants to steer the opposition in a moderate direction. But he still does not feel confident enough to give weapons – which is what the rebels most want. While the Foreign Secretary has not ruled out arming the insurgents in future, he stressed this would happen only if there was "absolutely no alternative".
In the meantime, Britain is going to the limits of the help allowed by the EU embargo. A specific exemption will for the first time allow the supply of "military equipment" – albeit "non-lethal". Four-wheel-drive vehicles with armour-plating will be provided so that opposition leaders can travel in safety within Syria.
The rebels now control large areas of the country. Mr Hague said that Britain would help them to govern these regions, providing power generators, communications equipment, medical supplies and incinerators for refuse disposal, along with "assistance, advice and training on how to maintain security".
A Foreign Office spokesman described yesterday's package as a "first step", adding that more help would follow. "We're working hard with the opposition to look at what new types of support and equipment we can provide in the future," he said.
But Mr Hague implicitly acknowledged the danger of British equipment ending up in the wrong hands. The Foreign Secretary said that "all our assistance will be carefully calibrated and monitored" and channelled to "moderate groups".
Yet the rebels themselves complain they have received little help from the West. Saudi Arabia and Qatar, meanwhile, have both arranged the supply of weapons, some of which have probably gone to Islamist radicals.
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, said during a visit to Qatar yesterday that America wanted to "guarantee" that arms were "going to the right people and to the moderate Syrian opposition".
General Selim Idriss, chief of staff of the rebel Free Syrian Army, called for weapons from the West yesterday. "What we have now is little – very, very little," he said in Brussels. With Western arms, however, Gen Idriss claimed that he could overthrow Mr Assad in a month.
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