Syrian rebels receiving arms from Gulf nations coordinated by US

Damascus, May 16 (ANI): Syrian rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad are receiving weapons bought by Persian Gulf nations in coordination with the United States, according to opposition activists and U.S. officials.

However, the Obama administration said that the United States was neither supplying nor funding the weapons, which includes antitank weaponry, The Washington Post reports.

The US said that it had contacted opposition military forces to provide the gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

"We are increasing our non-lethal assistance to the Syrian opposition, and we continue to coordinate our efforts with friends and allies in the region and beyond in order to have the biggest impact on what we are collectively doing," a senior State Department official said on conditions of anonymity.

Material is being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border.

Opposition activists, who two months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition, said that the flow of weapons, mostly bought from the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military, have significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.

Syria's Muslim Brotherhood also said it has opened its own supply channel to the rebels, using resources from wealthy private individuals and money from gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, said Mulham al-Drobi, a member of the Brotherhood's executive committee.

The effect of the new arms appeared evident in clash between opposition and government forces over control of the rebel-held city of Rastan, near Homs. (ANI)