US resumes nonlethal aid to Syria opposition

The United States has restarted deliveries of nonlethal aid to the Syrian opposition, officials said on Monday, more than a month after al-Qaida-linked militants seized warehouses and prompted a sudden cutoff of Western supplies to the rebels.

Communications equipment and other items are being funneled for now only to non-armed opposition groups, the US officials said.

But the move nevertheless boosts Syria's beleaguered rebels, who saw their international support slide after Islamic militants seized bases near the Turkish border that had been under the authority of a key US-backed leader.

It could also be seen as a US reward to the opposition for its participation in ongoing peace talks with the Syrian government in Geneva.

The US officials, who weren't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and requested anonymity, said the aid was being sent through Turkey into Syria, with the coordination of the Free Syrian Army's Supreme Military Council, led by Western-backed General Salim Idris.

They stressed that the halt in supplies last month was only a "precautionary measure" until the Obama administration could once again verify the security of aid packages.

Items taken in December from the Bab al-Hawa crossing between Syria and Turkey have since been returned, the officials said, and US-supported rebel groups have taken steps to prevent future supplies from being diverted.

Direct, nonlethal assistance from the US to armed Syrian rebel units could resume soon, US officials said.

They provided no indication about the status of lethal assistance such as body armor and ammunition.

Britain also suspended deliveries six weeks ago and Turkey shut its side of the border as fears over the growing strength of extremist jihadists crystallized in the takeover of the warehouses and bases by the Islamic Front, a new alliance of six of the most powerful Islamic rebel groups in Syria.

It was a stark demonstration of how Idris' influence had diminished amid the rise of al-Qaida-affiliated militants flush with cash, weapons and battleground experience.

More than 100,000 people have died in Syria's civil war, now in its third year. Internationally brokered peace talks began last week in Switzerland, but have made little to no headway, with most of the discussions centered on improving access for humanitarian groups and potential prisoner releases.

AP-Xinhua

(China Daily 01/28/2014 page11)