Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — Saudi Arabia has been struggling in supplying weapons to the Sunni revolt in Syria, a report said.

The International Crisis Group reported that Saudi Arabia, deemed the leading ally of the Sunni rebels, was finding it difficult to maintain the flow of effective weapons in the war against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

In a report, ICG said Saudi Arabia, which took over sponsorship of the revolt from Qatar in June 2013, has been hampered by inadequate supply routes, tension with Turkey and U.S. restrictions on the transfer of American weapons sold to the Gulf Cooperation Council kingdom.

“We found it harder to do than we thought, because we are not in the arms dealing business,” the report, quoting a Saudi official, said. “We are not authorized to use our own military arsenal because of our agreement with the U.S. prohibiting third-party transfers. So it took us more time.”

Titled “Syria’s Metastasising Conflicts,” the report said Saudi Arabia provided what the official termed was “some ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades” to unidentified rebel militias. But the official said the arms were insufficient in quality and quantity.

“What the opposition really needs are landmines in order to target tanks, as well as long-range rockets and surface-to-air missiles,” the official was quoted as telling ICG in November 2012.

Other officials said Saudi Arabia, which the report asserted was working closely with Jordan, was not directly aiding the rebels. They said the cash stemmed from both individual Saudis as well as Syrian exiles in the GCC kingdom.

“They transfer cash from bank accounts in Europe which we do not regulate, and they do it for a good cause,” the official told ICG. “But that means it might end up with groups on the ground that differ from the ones we would like to support.”

As a result, rebel militias have been switching affiliations depending on their foreign suppliers. The report, released in June 2013, said the changing allegiances was greatest in northern Syria, where the militias were in constant search for more funding and equipment.

“Erratic flows of weapons, ammunition and money in turn have given rise to a messy landscape of factions vying for resources, fighting over spoils and reshuffling their alliances,” ICG said in the report. “Newly-minted
guerrilla fighters tend to flock to whatever group has more guns and bullets, irrespective of its ideological leaning; offers superior opportunities for personal enrichment; or, in contrast, enjoys the most impeccable  reputation.”

  Bashar Assad, International Crisis Group, RPGs, Saudis struggling to supply Syrian rebels: ‘We are not in the arms dealing business’, surface-to-air missiles