UK could arm Syrian rebels - Hague

LONDON, Jan 10 (KUNA) -- The UK could start arming Syrian rebels, Foreign Secretary William Hague warned Thursday.
Hague said he would ask the European Union to lift its arms embargo to Syria, paving the way for the Government to start arming the Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
But he told MPs that if ministers did decide to arm Syrian rebels, the UK would focus its efforts only on moderate political forces.
In a comprehensive statement to the House of Commons, Hague said the Government had not yet decided to provide weapons, as well as non-lethal support such as satellite communications which it already provides.
But he said ministers want to take the steps needed to arm the rebels if the situation in Syria deteriorates, telling MPs that it was not clear whether the international envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, could be successful in brokering an end to the violence.
He said: "Clearly the best outcome for the Syrian people would be a diplomatic breakthrough, bringing an end to the bloodshed and establishing a new Syrian government able to restore stability.
"However, we must keep open options to help save lives in Syria and to assist opposition groups opposed to extremism if the violence continues.
We should send strong signals to Assad that all options are on the table.
"We will therefore seek to amend the EU sanctions so that the possibility of additional assistance is not closed off.
"No one can be sure how the situation in Syria will develop over the next few months.
There is no guarantee that Brahimi's efforts to mediate will be successful.
"President Assad's speech last week urged the Syrian people to unite in a war against his opponents and, given the regime's intransigence and brutality, there is a serious risk that the violence will indeed worsen in the next few months.
"If that happens, the international community's response will have to be stepped up and so we will not rule out any options to save lives and protect civilians in the absence of a political transition in Syria.
"We will ensure that our efforts are legal, that they are aimed at saving life and they support at all times the objective of a political transition and encouraging moderate political forces in Syria." For his part, Labour's Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said he was worried about the idea of supplying Syrian rebels with weapons.
In an exchange with the Foreign Secretary, he said: "I note with some continuing concern all that you have stated and so can I urge you to provide more detail to the House on the following matters - can you set out as much as you are able to, what are the UK Government's latest assessments on the role of AQ (al Qaida) and other extremist organisations now operating within Syria? "Given your statement, do you not accept that Syria is literally awash with arms? "Do you recognise the very grave and continuing difficulties of guaranteeing the end use of weapons supplied in to Syria, given the present uncertainty around the identity, intent and tactics of some of the rebel forces? "Do you not accept that if Europe was to decide to arm the rebel forces, it is perfectly possible that Russia would increase its own supply of arms to the Assad regime? "And so can I ask you, not least given the recent warnings of the (Commons) Foreign Affairs all-party Committee in an important report, what would encourage you to believe that intensifying the conflict would reduce the appalling level of suffering of the Syrian people?" In his statement to the Commons, Hague said MPs had to show solidarity with the "millions of courageous Syrian people in the face of this appalling brutality," adding the United Kingdom had a "moral obligation" to help save lives in the country.
He said the Government wanted to achieve "lasting stability" by working with the Syrian opposition and not trying to impose a political settlement "from the outside." The Foreign Office would provide opposition groups with another 2 million pounds of non-lethal support, on top of the 7.4 million pounds it had already donated.
This assistance would include solar-powered lighting, generators, communication equipment and water purification kits.
Humanitarian aid has also been supplied to Syria, Hague said, telling MPs a further 15 million pounds in relief, including blankets, food parcels and warm clothing, would be sent to the region to help more than 100,000 people.
Alexander, on the other hand, said the "principal responsibility for the appalling suffering being endured by the Syrian people rests of course with Assad and his brutish regime," but urged the Government to continue to address the humanitarian situation.
He added: "The burden of responsibility on the international community remains a heavy one. In the view of the opposition, rather than now directing its efforts towards intensifying the conflict, the focus of the British Government's work must remain focused on building international agreement around an inclusive post-Assad Syria and meeting immediate humanitarian needs." On hazards of supplies of arms into a conflict area he said: "I stress we have made no change in our policy on that.
We are trying to build into the EU's position flexibility on this.
"I think it's also important to note that the arms embargo as it stands inhibits or prohibits the supply to opposition groups of such items as body armour or helmets or certain types of communications equipment, and so the definition of arms for an arms embargo is quite a broad one and with regard to any future flexibility we build in that has to be borne in mind". (end) he.hb KUNA 101833 Jan 13NNNN