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U.N. Chief Opposes Obama’s Decision To Arm Syrian Rebels

06.14.13 | 8:55 am

Since rebels seized Raqqa from the government, they have posted guards at state buildings, returned bread prices to pre-war levels and opened a hotline that residents can phone to report security issues, according to... Since rebels seized Raqqa from the government, they have posted guards at state buildings, returned bread prices to pre-war levels and opened a hotline that residents can phone to report security issues, according to anti-regime activists. Despite the city lying in ruins and its people living in the poorest conditions one imaginable, the faith is still there. Rebels have killed security forces in public squares and driven their bodies through the streets. The most powerful rebel brigades are extremist Muslims and include Jabhat al-Nusra, which the America says is linked to al-Qaida. The first major Syrian city to fall totally under rebel control, Raqqa is set to be the best test case yet for how opposition fighters will administer territory amid Western concerns over who fills the vacuum if President Assad is ousted. While the city's new rulers try to govern, they are struggling with the same divisions that have hampered the rebel movement's effectiveness throughout Syria's civil war. MORE LESS

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is opposing the U.S. decision to send arms to the Syrian rebels and says there can be no certainty of chemical weapons use in Syria without an on-the-ground investigation.The U.N. chief reiterated Friday that there is no military solution to the more than two-year conflict and therefore increasing the flow of arms to either side “would not be helpful.”

The United States announced Thursday it decided to send lethal aid to the rebels after determining it had conclusive evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime used chemical weapons against opposition forces.

But Ban told reporters “the validity of any information on the alleged use of chemical weapons cannot be ensured without convincing evidence of the chain-of-custody.”

Syria refuses to allow U.N. inspectors into the country.

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U.N. Chief Opposes Obama’s Decision To Arm Syrian Rebels

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