Syria militants in need of ammunition, heavy weapons: McCain

Syria militants in need of ammunition, heavy weapons: McCain

US Senator John McCain

Fri May 31, 2013 11:31PM GMT

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US Senator John McCain says militants fighting against Syrian army forces are in dire need of “ammunition and heavy weapons” as the government troops are gaining ground in the crisis-hit country.

“There’s no doubt that they (the militants) need some kind of capability to reverse the battlefield situation, which right now is in favor of [Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad," McCain said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Friday.

The remarks come nearly two weeks before a joint US-Russian initiative to hold an international conference in Geneva to have the Syrian government and opposition groups at the negotiating table for the peaceful resolution to the deadly crisis. The opposition has, however, refused to take part in the meeting and has set Assad’s ouster as a precondition for their participation in the event. 

"It's hard to imagine Bashar Assad negotiating his departure when he has the upper hand on the battlefield," McCain said. "I'm all for a conference, but I think that conference should take place when Bashar Assad knows that he is doomed to defeat if he doesn't negotiate." 

The senator, a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, was speaking several days after he slipped into Syria through the Turkish border city of Kilis and spent nearly two hours with militant leaders. 

McCain has been an outspoken supporter of arming the militants in Syria, a stance the Obama administration has shied away from adopting officially though there have been reports of the US role in coordinating the shipment of arms to the militants through Turkey and Jordan. 

The call comes four days after the European Union decided to lift its arms embargo on Syria to pave the way for sending weapons to the militants. The move met with Russia’s quick reaction which announced a day later that it was deploying its state-of-the-art S-300 aid defense missiles to Syria as part of a contract with the Arab country. 

On Friday, the Syrian Army made more gains in its fight against the foreign-backed militants in the strategic city of al-Qusayr, a former militant stronghold in the western province of Homs. 

The army said on Thursday that its forces had regained the control of towns of Brak, Jawadieh and Arjoun in the city. 

MA/MHB

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/05/31/306495/send-weapons-to-syria-militants-mccain/