CIA will lead US effort to arm, train Syrian rebel forces, Fox confirms

Published June 15, 2013

FoxNews.com

The United States will supply Syrian rebels with weapons through a CIA-run program, FoxNews confirmed Saturday.

President Obama decided Thursday to supply rebel forces with small arms and ammunition, following confirmation that the regime of Syria President Bashar al-Assad's has been using chemical weapons in the 2-year-long civil war in which at least 90,000 people have been killed.

In addition to supplying the weapons, the CIA will train rebel forces, Fox News also confirmed.

Obama vowed last summer to take action should the Assad cross a “red line” by using chemical weapons but has been challenged in verifying whether his forces used chemical weapons and in determining which rebel forces can be trusted.

However, the rebels being supplied with only small arms has disappointed some Capitol Hill lawmakers and other Americas who want a more robust response and who say the administration’s actions might be too little, too late as Assad forces appear to be taking control of the war.

The White House has still not decided whether to send anti-tank weapons.

Arizona Republican John McCain, a military hawk, wants much heavier arms, including anti-aircraft missiles to go after Assad's air power.

Russia, for its part, question the evidence presented by the U.S. and says it does not meet stringent criteria for reliability.

Syria's state news agency is reporting that government forces have captured a suburb of Damascus near the capital's international airport.

SANA says troops killed several rebels and destroyed their hideouts in the Ahmadiyeh area on Saturday, two days after a mortar round landed near the airport's runway and briefly disrupted flights.

A local rebel commander who identified himself by his nickname, Abu Hareth, for fear of government reprisals, said soldiers and rebels have been fighting sporadically in the area since late Friday. He said two rebel fighters have been killed there since.

Ahmadiyeh is part of a region known as Eastern Ghouta, where government forces have been on the offensive for weeks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report



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