US, Europe sending Syria militants arms from Croatia: Report

The US and Europe have supplied militants fighting inside Syria against President Bashar al-Assad with arms from Croatia, a new report says.

Since last November, the US and its European allies have sent 3,000 tons of weapons in 75 planeloads from Zagreb to Syria militants via Jordan and Turkey, Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List said Thursday.

The report said weapons, which date back to the the time of former Yugoslavia, have been paid for by Saudi Arabia at the request of the US.

These shipments, which include rocket launchers, recoil-less guns and the M79 anti-tank weapon, have enabled militants to advance in north Syria over the past few weeks after months of stalemate.

The Croatian paper added that the weapons used by Syria militants also came from “several other European countries including Britain"

According to the report, British, American and French military advisers have also been operating in countries bordering Syria in an effort to provide training to militants to fight against the Syrian government.

The Guardian also said on March 8, 2013 that the United States has been leading a training program with the assistance of British and French instructors since last year.

The Syrian crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed.

Damascus says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

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