Extremist Groups Pose a worrying Threat in Syria- Paris. Britain will not Arm “Rebels”

PARIS,(ST)_ French Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Alliot  acknowledged yesterday “that extremist groups pose a worrying threat to the evolution of the situation in Syria and neighboring countries.”

“We are concerned about the increasing violence between extremist groups and other armed opposition groups in Syria.” Alliot said in a statement to reporters yesterday.

He denies his country ‘s  positions in  supporting terrorism in Syria and claimed that “France requested the inclusion of al-Nusra Front group on the list of  UN terrorist groups, such as al-Qaeda,” but he insisted on the division of terror to good and bad when he declared that his country “believes it is necessary to increase support for moderate opposition in the Syrian coalition, “forgetting that these groups commit massacres against the Syrians and destroy the country’s infrastructure and deal with  fundamentalist terrorist organizations as a formal ally.

In turn, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius claimed “that his country did not change its position on the non-delivery  of lethal weapons to the Syrian opposition militants.”

AFP quoted Fabius as saying after a meeting dedicated to international issues with leader Francois Bayrou yesterday “At the moment France did not modify its position .. We did not deliver  lethal weapons .. This is our position.”

France and Britain, who  support  terrorist groups in Syria pressured  the European Union by the end of last May to lift the ban on the export of arms to “the Syrian opposition.”

But the French Minister  defended the EU aforementioned  decision saying that “the decision to lift the ban is a permission to hand over weapons  and it is up to  each country now to use this permission or not,” but he recalled that  conditions  were put for any possible arms shipment.”

However, France who  wants  to increase its support for the Syrian opposition has collided with its  British partner by  the refusal of  Czech the Republic and Austria at  the European Union to lift arms embargo to the Syrian opposition .

Britain has abandoned plans to arm Syrian rebels fighting in Syria, according to sources familiar with British government thinking.

The sources told Reuters that “Britain is clearly not going to arm the rebels in any way, shape or form,” said one source, pointing to a parliamentary motion passed last week urging prior consultation of lawmakers.

The reasons for the shift were that British public opinion was largely opposed, and there were fears that any weapons Britain supplied could fall into the hands of Islamist militants.

“It will train them, give them tactical advice and intelligence, teach them command and control. But public opinion, like it or not, is against intervention.”

The British position amounted to one of the gloomiest assessments of the rebels’ prospects yet.

It was Prime Minister David Cameron who led the charge earlier this year for the European Union to drop an arms embargo on Syria.

T. Fateh