CIA moving arms to Jordan for Syria’s militants, report says

Iran Press TV

Thu Jun 27, 2013 12:40AM GMT

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has begun transferring weapons to Jordan in order to arm groups of foreign-backed militants fighting against the Syrian government, a report says.

According to the report by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, the CIA is moving the weapons “from a network of secret warehouses.”

The report added that Washington plans to provide the militants with “training, small arms, ammunition, and possibly certain types of antitank missiles.”

Saudi Arabia also plans to provide them with “antiaircraft weapons.”

The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

Damascus says the West and its regional allies, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, are supporting the militants.

In an interview broadcast on Turkish television in April, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that if the militants take power in Syria, they could destabilize the entire Middle East region for decades.

“If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control… the situation will inevitably spill over into neighboring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he stated.

NT/MHB