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UK to send armoured vehicles to Syrian opposition
From BBC News site -
The UK is to provide armoured vehicles and body armour to opposition forces in Syria "to help save lives", Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.
It will offer millions of pounds in "non-lethal" equipment, including search and rescue, communications, and disease-prevention materials.
Mr Hague said it was a "necessary, proportionate and lawful" response to "extreme human suffering".
Up to 70,000 people have been killed and a million refugees have fled.
The latest UN figures show that at least one million people have fled abroad, including 400,000 since the start of the year, with the largest number seeking shelter in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres has warned that Syria was "spiralling towards a full-scale disaster" and that international response capacity is "dangerously stretched".
Mr Hague told Parliament the Syrian people were in "dire need" of help and the UK could not "look the other way" in the face of the escalating humanitarian crisis and what he said were human rights violations by the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
He announced a £13m package of logistical and humanitarian support for areas under opposition control which he said was possible after changes to the terms of the EU's arms embargo were agreed last week.
The UK will provide non-combat armoured vehicles to opposition forces to help them move around in safety, as well as body armour. Other material being provided includes communications equipment and support for the electricity grid and water supply.
"The Cabinet is in no doubt that this is a necessary, proportionate and lawful response to a situation of extreme humanitarian suffering, and that there is no practicable alternative," he said.
"All our assistance will be carefully calibrated and monitored as well as legal, and will be aimed at saving life, alleviating this human catastrophe and supporting moderate groups."
The UK will also provide "assistance, advice and training" for opposition forces, while Mr Hague said the UK could not rule out further support, adding that all options remained on the table.
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21684105)
Talk about a 'free' opposition, huh?
Not much of a Bashar lover though.
