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Gulf Countries Arming Extreme Islamist Groups in Syria
(AP-Washington Post) A new weapons shipment to Syrian rebels sent earlier this month by Gulf countries went to one of the extreme Islamist groups, Ahrar al-Sham. The group is the strongest member of the Syrian Islamist Front, made up of 11 Islamist factions, which is increasingly posing as a parallel to the Western-backed Free Syrian Army. Ahrar al-Sham has fighting units in nearly all the provinces. It has coordinated to some degree with the new unified Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army, created in December. Activists and residents in areas the group controls describe them as hardcore Islamist. Mustafa Alani, a Dubai-based expert on Gulf countries' policies, said the shipment included Russian anti-tank missiles, which rebels have previously obtained from raids on Syrian military arsenals, and some Chinese anti-aircraft missiles in small quantities. He said there was already evidence of rebels using the new anti-tank missiles in Aleppo. Alani said "different intentions" among international arms providers bring a complication. "The regional states, especially the Gulf states...want the arms supply to help (rebels) to score a military victory. The Americans and the European Union want only to restore balance because they think once you restore balance both parties will be ready to come to the table."