Daily Times

According to a latest report
published by The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune, USA, through CIA, is reported to be supporting arms supply to Syrian rebels. Not only CIA, but Turkey and Saudi Arabia are also actively participating in fuelling the rebellion against the Assad regime. Saudi Arabia is purchasing arms in Croatia and then transporting them to the rebels in Southern Syria, albeit the rebels still complaining that the arms support is not enough. The arms supply is being actively carried out through airports of Turkey and Jordan.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad, in a recent interview to a Turkish news channel, expressed his anger towards Turkey and Jordan, calling the Turkish President a liar, whereas warning Lebanon against arming and training rebels on its soil. “Erdogan has not said a single word of truth since the beginning of the crisis in Syria,” said Assad in the interview with the Ulusal Kanal news network.

The Turkish government is managing the oversight of the whole programme making sure the rebels get enough supply of ammunition to fight Assad’s forces. According to military analysts, the arms supply is being carried out on a mammoth scale. “A conservative estimate of the payload of these flights would be 3,500 tons of military equipment,” says Hugh Griffiths who monitors the illegal transfer of arms for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. According to him, the intensity and frequency of the arms supply flights indicates towards a well-planned and coordinated clandestine military logistics operation.

CIA’s current support refutes previous claims by the Obama administration of only providing non-military support to the rebels, but this current extensive support signals towards a nod not only for the rebels but also for Saudi Arabia and its allies in fuelling up the spiral of civil war in Syria.

The UN recently reported that more than four million Syrians were forced to leave their homes as a result of the ongoing conflict. During the same conflict, almost 70,000 people have also lost their lives. Humanitarian efforts for the refugees are also in full scale on international level as Russia, on Thursday, sent its first cargo for the Syrian refugees in Jordan.

In what seems to be a never ending conflict, both the parties are standing firm on their respective stances without considering the loss of lives and collateral damage. Where Arab states’ role in Syria was an open secret, the contribution from Croatia is something new. Scores of weapons, originating from Croatia, were recently spotted in Syria, which were taxied from Croatia to Amman, Jordan. From Jordan and Turkey, trucks were used to carry the weapons near the Syrian border.

With disastrous situations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya now open to international observers, any sort of support to rebels could also wreak havoc on Syria and its people, and also the region as it could suck Jordan, Turkey and Iran into a possible full scale war. In case of an offensive against Syria, Iran — Assad’s closest ally — would also move in to protect its friend, and with Iran coming into play, Israel may also be tempted to fight Tehran.

Inaccuracies have also been reported in weapons supply as many fake revolutionary groups received weapons from the supply cargo. A leader of the a revolutionary group, Hassan Aboud, verified such claims as according to him, some fake groups claiming to be revolutionaries and rebels, take the weapons and then sell them in the market.

There is minimal effort laid on supporting and initiating a peace dialogue among the conflicting parties. On the other hand, Russia and China have emphasised on dialogue in order to find a way to end the conflict whereas Saudi Arabia, USA and their support partners think otherwise. Supporting a civil war and the rebels may not be of help in ending the conflict, rather would simply increase the agony currently faced by the Syrians.

There is a dire need to support peace process and an effective dialogue for a long term solution that could ensure not only peace, but also a power sharing government formation. Such a formation, giving equal representation to all stakeholders, although may weaken Assad’s authority but would help in restoring peace in the war stricken country.

The writer is a research analyst, programme consultant and editor at the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Islamabad. He is presently studying Public Policy and Conflict at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, Germany. He can be reached at farooq@crss.pk