Syrian Rebels Seek ‘Brotherly Countries’ to Supply Anti-Aircraft Weapons

The Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) group, after gathering for two days in Riyadh, has blasted what it referred to as the "scorched earth policy" of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his allies.

HNC spokesman Salem al-Meslet said that the opposition was relying on "brotherly countries and friends […] to lift the embargo on sophisticated weapons imposed on the opposition."

The opposition rebels could be supplied with advanced weapons such as the shoulder-fired anti-aircraft MANPADS, effective against slow low-flying helicopters often used by Syrian air forces to drop bombs.

Earlier, State Department spokesman John Kirby urged that, in the event Russia does not halt airstrikes against terrorists in Syria, Moscow will have "to send troops home in body bags, and will continue to lose resources, perhaps even aircraft," implying that the US and the opposition allies will supply the rebels with MANPADS for use against Russian aircraft.

Western states are known to be incapable of controlling the end-users of weapons given to purported allies. "It only takes one stray MANPAD to sneak into Turkey and that would be a very bad thing," a US official told The Los Angeles Times in May, on condition of anonymity, observing that US military authorities must think twice about giving accurate modern weaponry to inexperienced and profit-hungry end users.

Charles Lister, an expert on the Syrian conflict for The Middle East Institute, reported that shipments of MANPADS have been sent to "vetted" Free Syrian Army groups in northern Syria.