US pledges first direct aid to Syria rebel fighters

ROME: The United States has announced it will provide direct aid to Syrian rebels, but not the arms they had hoped for, as well as $60 million in extra assistance to the political opposition.

After talks with European and Arab partners and the opposition National Coalition in Rome, Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that the United States will provide aid to the fighters in the form of food and medical assistance.

The move is a significant shift in US policy but falls short of rebel demands for Western backers to supply the rebellion with weapons or non-offensive military equipment, such as vehicles and body armour.

Coalition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, standing beside Kerry as he made the announcement, expressed disappointment, suggesting the West was overly focused on the presence of Islamists among rebels.

He also complained about weapons continuing to reach the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Kerry said that, "for more than a year, the United States and our partners have called on Assad to heed the voice of the Syrian people and to halt his war machine. Instead, what we have seen is his brutality increase."

The goal is to give the opposition the means to control areas it has seized from the regime, to prove to Assad he can't "shoot his way out" of the conflict.

"Working together, we've already been able to do a lot... but today, President Obama has encouraged all of us to embrace the notion that we need to do more."

Kerry said the $60 million would strengthen the Coalition's organisational capacity, and help war-torn communities with respect to sanitation, food delivery, public order, education and medical care.

"The stakes are really high. And we can't risk letting this country, in the heart of the Middle East, be destroyed by vicious autocrats or hijacked by the extremists.

In supporting the Coalition and the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), "we reject both of those choices, and we stand with those Syrians fighting for the right to choose dignity and democracy and justice. That's our battle."

A State Department official said the new money is in addition to $50 million in non-lethal support Washington has already provided to help Syrian opposition activists, including communications equipment.

That aid was provided through Turkey, while the United States has also contributed some $380 million dollars in humanitarian aid through UN agencies and aid groups.

Asked about congressional approval of the funding, Kerry told journalists he was "very confident for rapid delivery".