US announces new plan to aid rebels

Hillary Clinton opened a session of the pro-opposition Friends of Syria group on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and said the US was releasing an additional US$30 million (Dh110m) for food and medical services for Syrian civilians ¿suffering under the relentless assaults¿ of president Bashar Al Assad's government.

NEW YORK // The US secretary of state Hillary Clinton yesterday announced an increase in non-lethal aid to civilian opposition groups and reiterated Washington's demands that "as the bodies keep piling up in morgues … the Syrian regime must end".

She opened a session of the pro-opposition Friends of Syria group on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and said the US was releasing an additional US$30 million (Dh110m) for food and medical services for Syrian civilians "suffering under the relentless assaults" of president Bashar Al Assad's government.

The US would also provide another $15 million to unarmed opposition groups in satellite phones, cameras and other equipment to help them "strengthen their networks and document human rights abuses", Mrs. Clinton said.

Total US humanitarian aid has reached $130 million and funding for civilian opposition groups $45 million since the start of the 18-month conflict.

Mrs Clinton said the US had targeted new sanctions on an arms company in Belarus supplying Damascus as well as members of Hizbollah, the Lebanese group that is supporting Mr Al Assad.

"But the regime's most important lifeline is Iran," Mrs Clinton said, citing Iran's admission this week that Iranian Revolutionary Guards are operating inside Syria. "Iran will no doubt do what ever it takes to help its proxy and crony in Damascus."

Mrs Clinton praised Iraq for beginning random searches for weapons transhipment from Iran to Syria, which are in violation of a UN Security Council embargo on all Iranian arms exports.

The United Nations' failure to resolve the Syrian crisis so far has been the underlying theme of the UN's annual meeting.

While many members are keen to find a solution, the Security Council has been disunited on Syria as Russia and China vetoed three resolutions against Damascus, one of which threatened sanctions.

This led UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan to resign. His replacement, veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi, who briefed the Security Council on Monday, has lowered expectations.

The Arab League was for the first time invited to address the Friends of Syria yesterday, a collection of 70 nations committed to deposing Mr Al Assad.

Nabil Elaraby, the league's secretary general, acknowledged that all international efforts have failed so far, yet called for a Security Council resolution endorsing the Geneva declaration — which was agreed by both Russia and the West.

"We need to operate in a new equation, which is the implementation of the Geneva plan," Mr Elaraby said. "What is important is that Geneva...agreed that we should start a transitional period, from the present regime to another regime so that Syrian people's rights will be met."

"They've seen enough war, suffering and destruction," he said.

"The people are looking to us now.," he said. "if we are truly friends of Syrian people we will take steps to save the whole region from an expanded civil war, and causalities of massive proportions."

Diplomats said a crucial goal of the Friends is to unite Syria's disparate opposition groups, divided over religion and ethnicity, whether they live in Syria or abroad.