Pro-Assad protesters try to gatecrash "Friends of Syria" meeting in Tunis

Western and other countries are turning a blind eye to weapons purchases by Syrian exiles who are already smuggling light arms, communications equipment and night vision goggles to rebels inside Syria, a Syrian opposition source said on Friday.    

Syrian opposition supporters were also trying to find ways to bring anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons to the Free Syrian Army, which is composed mainly of Syrian soldiers who have defected and volunteer civilians, the source said.    

Contacts were also ongoing to find ways to get retired Syrian officers into the country to act as advisers in an effort to coordinate rebels fighting in a near year-long uprising against Bashar al-Asad's rule.    

"We are bringing in defensive and offensive weapons... It is coming from everywhere, including Western countries and it is not difficult to get anything through the borders," the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.    

"There is not a decision by any country to arm the rebels but countries are allowing Syrians to buy weapons and send them into the country."  

Syria's main opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) called on the "Friends of Syria" on Friday to arm the Free Syrian Army, composed mainly of thousands of defectors, as well as all forms of popular resistance against Bashar Assad.    

"If the regime fails to accept the terms of the political initiative outlined by the Arab League and end violence against citizens, the Friends of Syria should not constrain individual countries from aiding the Syrian opposition by means of military advisers, training and provision of arms to defend themselves," the SNC said in a seven-point statement of demands to the international meeting in Tunis.

Western and Arab powers meeting in Tunis on Friday will demand that Syrian authorities allow immediate access for aid to the cities of Homs, Deraa, Zabadani "and other areas under siege", according to an updated draft declaration obtained by Reuters.   

The draft conclusion of the "Friends of Syria" meeting also calls on Damascus "immediately to cease all violence" and pledges to deliver humanitarian supplies within 48 hours if Syria "stopped its assault on civilian areas and permitted accces".

The group will also commit to enforce sanctions aimed at pressuring Syrian authorities to halt violence, including travel bans, asset freezes, a halt to purchase of Syrian oil, ceasing infrastructure investment and financial services relating to Syria, reducing diplomatic ties and preventing arms shipments to the Syrian government.

The U.S. has announced recently that Secretary of State Hilary Clinton will also attend the conference backing Syrian opposition groups. Besides, the overseas-based Syrian National Committee and the local National Coordination Committee, the two largest opposition groups, have agreed on sending representatives for the talks.   

Several hundred supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday forced their way into the grounds of a hotel in Tunisia where Western and Arab leaders were preparing to meet to demand an end to Syria's crackdown on opposition.

A Reuters reporter said the crowd arrived in buses at the Palace Hotel, in a suburb of Tunis, and then forced their way past perimeter gates. They were holding up portraits of Assad. They tried to push their way into the hotel building itself but were held back by a security cordon, the reporter said.


Reuters/AP