US: $60 Million in New Aid to Syria Opposition
Worldwide, Daily news | ankakh | February 28, 2013 18:11The Obama administration said Thursday that it will provide the Syrian opposition with an additional $60 million in assistance and — in a significant policy shift — will for the first time provide nonlethal aid like food and medical supplies to rebels battling to oust President Bashar Assad.
“We need to stand on the side of those who want to see a free Syria,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.
Kerry announced the new support and the decision to back the rebel fighters on the sidelines of an international conference on Syria in Rome, where European and Arab nations also signaled their intention to provide fresh assistance to the opposition.
“No nation, no people should live in fear of their so-called leaders,” Kerry said.
Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi, who hosted the meeting, said: “We must go above and beyond the efforts we are making now. We can no longer allow this massacre to continue.”
Kerry said the U.S. decision is designed to increase the pressure on Assad to step down and pave the way for a democratic transition. The aid is also intended to help the opposition govern newly liberated areas of Syria and blunt the influence of extremists.
Washington has already provided $385 million in humanitarian aid to Syria’s war-weary population and $54 million in communications equipment, medical supplies and other nonlethal assistance to Syria’s political opposition.
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