Syria rebels want 'effective' arms after US statement
By REUTERS
BEIRUT - Syrian rebel and political opposition leaders called on Friday for anti-aircraft and other sophisticated weapons after the United States said it would boost military support to President Bashar Assad's foes."(They) need to provide effective military assistance to take the necessary steps to prevent the criminal regime from using chemical weapons," Brigadier-General Selim Idris, a rebel commander, told Al-Arabiya Television.He said rebels, on the defensive in many parts of the country after weeks of counter-attacks by Assad's forces, needed "large quantities of weapons and ammunition, anti-aircraft (weapons) and sophisticated weapons."He was responding to a statement by US deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes that the United States would increase military support to Idris' Supreme Military Council after determining that Assad's government had used chemical weapons.
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