Syria: US Offers Rebels $123m Non-Lethal Aid

The United States is providing Syrian rebels with $123m (£80m) in new non-lethal aid that may include body armour and other supplies.

The money will double the amount of non-lethal assistance to the Syrian opposition, as well as increase humanitarian aid.

The aid could include armoured vehicles, night vision goggles and advanced communications equipment.

Foreign ministers from the main supporters of the rebels trying to topple the Syrian government were meeting in Istanbul over the weekend to increase pressure on Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

The United Nations estimates that the fighting in Syria has killed more than 70,000 people.

"The stakes in Syria couldn't be more clear: chemical weapons, the slaughter of people by ballistic missiles and other weapons of huge destruction, the potential of a whole country ... being torn apart into enclaves, the potential of sectarian violence," US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement.

"This bloodshed needs to stop and that's what brought us here tonight on Saturday and a very early Sunday morning to talk about the possibilities for peace and transition."

John Kerry meets Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers said they welcomed the Syrian National Coalition's "firm rejection of extremism and its commitment not to use chemical weapons" and cited those commitments in agreeing to enhance and expand support for all coalition institutions.

The foreign ministers said they recognised the "need to change the balance of power on the ground" and, in looking at the current flow of military assistance, welcomed the additional pledges and commitments to further increase the support to the Supreme Military Council.

The head of the council provided a military briefing during the meeting.

Syrian opposition leader Moaz al Khatib said in a statement: "Our revolution is for the entire Syrian people."

President Barack Obama has said he has no plans to send weapons or give lethal aid to the rebels, despite pressure from Congress, some administration advisers and appeals from the Syrian opposition leadership.

Since February, the US has shipped food and medical supplies directly to the Free Syrian Army, but Mr Obama recently expanded that include defensive military equipment.

Mr Kerry's announcement on Saturday was the first under that new authorisation.

So far, the US has provided an estimated $117m in nonlethal aid to the Syrian opposition, according to the White House.

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