The United States has opposed arming the rebels with these weapons .
DUBAI ( AFP ) – Saudi Arabia is in talks with Pakistan to provide anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets at Syrian rebels to try to tip the balance in the war to topple President Bashar al- Assad , a Saudi source said on Sunday.
The United States has opposed arming the rebels with such weapons , fearing it could end up in the hands of extremists , but the Syrian opposition say the failure of the peace talks in Geneva seems to have led Washington to soften their opposition.
Pakistan makes its own version of Chinese missiles fired from antiaircraft known as Anza shoulder and antitank rockets – both of which Riyadh is trying to get to the rebels, said the source, who is close to the decision makers in Saudi Arabia , who requested anonymity .
The source said that a visit to Riyadh earlier this month by the Pakistan army chief , General Raheel Sharif , who was Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz met .
Same last week Prince Salman led a large delegation from Pakistan , shortly after the chief diplomat of Saudi Prince Saud al- Faisal visited key ally of the kingdom .
Jordan will be providing facilities for storing weapons before being delivered to the rebels in Syria , the same source said.
AFP was unable to obtain confirmation from officials Arabia, Pakistan and Jordan.
The head of the Syrian opposition , Ahmad Jarba , promised during a flying visit to northern Syria last week that ” powerful arms will be here soon . ”
Rebels have said that while anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets help tip the scales in the battle against the forces of Assad , who enjoy air superiority.
The conflict in Syria almost three years has torn the country apart , killing more than 140,000 people, including 50,000 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory based in Britain for Human Rights.
The United States has opposed arming the rebels with such weapons , fearing it could end up in the hands of extremists , but the Syrian opposition say the failure of the peace talks in Geneva seems to have led Washington to soften their opposition.
Pakistan makes its own version of Chinese missiles fired from antiaircraft known as Anza shoulder and antitank rockets – both of which Riyadh is trying to get to the rebels, said the source, who is close to the decision makers in Saudi Arabia , who requested anonymity .
The source said that a visit to Riyadh earlier this month by the Pakistan army chief , General Raheel Sharif , who was Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz met .
Same last week Prince Salman led a large delegation from Pakistan , shortly after the chief diplomat of Saudi Prince Saud al- Faisal visited key ally of the kingdom .
Jordan will be providing facilities for storing weapons before being delivered to the rebels in Syria , the same source said.
AFP was unable to obtain confirmation from officials Arabia, Pakistan and Jordan.
The head of the Syrian opposition , Ahmad Jarba , promised during a flying visit to northern Syria last week that ” powerful arms will be here soon . ”
Rebels have said that while anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets help tip the scales in the battle against the forces of Assad , who enjoy air superiority.
The conflict in Syria almost three years has torn the country apart , killing more than 140,000 people, including 50,000 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory based in Britain for Human Rights.
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