Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — Britain, in what could prompt other NATO members to do the
same, has decided to equip the opposition against Syrian President Bashar
Assad.

Officials said the government of Prime Minister David Cameron would
begin sending advanced non-lethal equipment to the Syrian opposition. They
said this would include communications systems to encourage cooperation
between rebel groups that have been fighting the Assad regime since March
2011.

“There is no limit on what resources we can provide,” Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

On Feb. 7, Hague did not detail the type of communications allocated to the opposition. The minister, however, stressed that Britain was not preparing military intervention in Syria.

“We have provided [to the opposition] training in documentation of human rights abuses, in strategic communications and so on,” Hague said. “We may be able to do more in the future.”

Officials acknowledged that the government was taking an approach similar to that against the former regime of Libyan Col. Moammar Gadhafi. In 2011, Britain began helping the opposition to Gadhafi with so-called humanitarian aid and later deployed special operations advisers to plan military operations against Tripoli.

Britain was expected to work with other NATO allies in the growing
campaign to oust Assad. Officials said British assistance to the rebels
would be coordinated with Turkey, Syria’s neighbor and host to the
opposition. They said the United States was also expected to contribute
operational assistance to the rebels.

Officials said Britain would also help the rebels establish a radio
station in Turkey that would broadcast into Syria. They also reported
British support for harsh European Union sanctions against Assad,
particularly the Syrian Central Bank.

The British announcement came amid a massive military campaign against
the opposition and rebel forces. About 500 people were said to have been
killed in February amid Syrian Army shelling of such Sunni strongholds as
Hama and Homs.

Officials said the Assad regime has been bolstered by massive aid by
Iran and Russia. They said both countries have sent advisers to plan
strategy on how to quell the revolt, which has killed more than 6,000
people.

“The Syrian regime has deployed snipers, tanks, artillery and mortars
against civilian protesters and population centers, particularly in the
cities of Homs, Idlib, Hama and Dera,” Hague said.

  Bashar Assad, David Cameron, Hama, Homs, Moammar Gadhafi, NATO, non-lethal equipment, Syrian Central Bank, UK offers assistance to Syrian opposition, William Hague