March 4, 2014 | VOA News

News Update

Saudi Arabia reportedly is offering to provide Syrian rebels more sophisticated weapons, including shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles that can take down fighter planes and helicopter gunships.

They could be a game changer in the Syrian civil war.

Known as MANPADS or man-portable air defense systems, the shoulder-fired missiles are a highly-effective weapon.

Now, Saudi Arabia is offering to supply moderate rebels with these weapons. That could tip the balance on the battlefield.

Senior Middle East analyst David Weinberg said, “They [Saudis] see Sunnis, their compatriots being slaughtered by Shi’ites whom they perceive as heretics, and they see a religious obligation to rise to the side of their compatriots who have been struggling on the battlefield.”

 

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Issues:

Syria