Britain\u2019s parliament will vote on whether to start sending arms to the Syrian opposition, the UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has said. He also expressed his concerns that government forces are \u201cgaining ground\u201d in Syria, \u2018undermining\u2019 negotiations.<\/p>\n
\n No decision on sending arms to Syrian rebels had yet been taken,
\n Hague assured on Sunday in an interview to the BBC.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThere would be a vote one way or the other,\u201d<\/i> the British
\n foreign secretary added, admitting that not everyone supports
\n such a move in the country. Some people have \u201cunderstandable
\n concerns,\u201d<\/i> he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n However, Hague himself apparently advocated the rebels\u2019 \u201cright
\n to defend themselves,\u201d<\/i> saying the world \u201cdenies\u201d<\/i> them
\n such a \u201cright.\u201d<\/i>\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite Britain had lobbied vigorously to lift the EU embargo on
\n arms shipments to Syria side by side with France, the UK
\n government now appears to be split on the issue. Some ministers
\n fear that sending arms to rebels would not only worsen the
\n bloodshed in Syria, but also drag Britain into the conflict.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hague also remained skeptical of the two conflicting sides coming
\n together at a Geneva peace conference, and blamed the recent
\n gains of Syrian President Bashar Assad\u2019s forces for making
\n negotiations even less possible.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe regime has gained ground. That makes the Geneva
\n conference harder to bring about and to make a success. It makes
\n it less likely that the regime will make enough concessions in
\n such negotiations, and it makes it harder to get the opposition
\n to come to the negotiations,\u201d<\/i> Hague argued.\n<\/p>\n
\n The UK Foreign Secretary was apparently referring to the retaking
\n of the strategic western Syrian town of Qusair on the border with
\n Lebanon, which is believed to have cut an important supply route
\n for the rebels.\n<\/p>\n
\n Russia has blasted the EU\u2019s move to lift the Syrian arms embargo
\n as \u201can unlawful\u201d<\/i> decision and \u201c<\/i>an example of double
\n standards.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis is an unlawful decision, in principle, to discuss
\n seriously on official level the issue of supplying or not
\n supplying arms to non-state actors is contrary to all norms of
\n international law,\u201d<\/i> the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
\n Lavrov said, citing the Global Arms Trade Treaty, which allows
\n supplying arms to governments only.\n<\/p>\n
\n Meanwhile, a report by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human
\n Rights said the rebels shot down a 15-year-old child in front of
\n his parents for what they considered a \u201cblasphemy.\u201d<\/i>\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cAn unidentified rebel group shot dead a 15-year-old child who
\n worked as a coffee seller in Aleppo, after they accused him of
\n blasphemy,\u201d<\/i> the Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said
\n as quoted by Al Jazeera.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThey shot the boy twice, once in the mouth, another in his
\n neck, in front of his mother, his father and his siblings,\u201d<\/i>
\n Abdel Rahman said, detailing the atrocity.\n<\/p>\n
\n The rights activist blamed foreign jihadists of the
\n \u201ccriminal\u201d<\/i> deed, citing reports that the offenders spoke
\n \u201cclassical Arabic.\u201d<\/i> He condemned the shooting, saying it
\n is the kind of criminality that \u201cmakes people in Syria fear the
\n fall of the regime.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n