Tehran. YJC. Fresh batches of weapons have recently been sent to Syria in a “renewed effort by outside powers” to arm the Free Syrian Army, officials told the Washington Post in a report on Sunday.
In recent weeks, anti-tank weapons and recoilless rifles, among other arms, have been sent across the Jordanian border into the Syrian province of Daraa, the newspaper stated, citing Arab and opposition officials.
The weapons influx reportedly serves the purpose of countering "the growing influence of Islamist extremist groups in the north of Syria by boosting more moderate groups fighting in the south,” the officials told the Post.
"The idea was to get heavier stuff, intensify supply and make sure it goes to the good guys,” an Arab official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Post. "If you want to weaken al-Nusra, you do it not by withholding [weapons] but by boosting the other groups.”
Al-Nusra Front, which was unknown before the start of the revolt against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad but which now regularly issues statements claiming suicide attacks in Syria.
Another reason for the fresh arms supplies was also to "shift the focus of the war away from the north toward the south and the capital, Assad’s stronghold,” the Post added, quoting a coordinator for the Free Syrian Army, who also remained unnamed.
(AL ARABIYA)