Foreign Weapons Are Now Flooding Into Syria

Online Videos Showcase Syrian Rebels' Foreign Weaponry -- Reuters

(Reuters) - From his home in the English town of Leicester, former business administrator Elliot Higgins trawls through sometimes hundreds of online videos a day from Syria's civil war.

His research, begun after he took redundancy late last year, has made him a self-taught expert on the weaponry of a conflict largely inaccessible to outsiders, in which disparate rebel groups, some linked to al-Qaeda, form their own supply lines.

"I was just interested, and no one else seemed to be doing it," the 34-year-old said in a telephone interview.

In recent months, he has noticed that the rebels have been getting much more sophisticated Chinese, Croatian and other foreign equipment, notably the anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry they have long sought.

More traditional experts, many of whom read Higgins' blog, have come to the same conclusion, although they say the supplies are not significant enough to change the dynamic of the rebel fight against President Bashar al-Assad's heavily armed forces.

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My Comment: I expect these arm shipments to only escalate in the months to come.