May 28, 2013 -- Updated 1837 GMT (0237 HKT)
For two years, Syrian rebels have begged the world to arm them as they
try to overthrow a four-decade dynasty. Now, European Union countries
may be stepping up to that call. FULL STORY
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McCAIN VISITS REBELS
May 28, 2013 -- Updated 1902 GMT (0302 HKT)
Syrian rebels take position in a
damaged house during clashes with regime forces in Aleppo on Wednesday,
May 22. Tensions in Syria first flared in March 2011 during the onset of
the Arab Spring, eventually escalating into a civil war that still
rages. This gallery contains the most compelling images taken since the
start of the conflict.
HIDE CAPTION
Syrian civil war in photos
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: "We are being subjected to genocide at the hands of Hezbollah," rebel chief says
- Three Lebanese soldiers killed at checkpoint near Syrian border by unknown attackers
- Russia says its delivery of surface-to-air missiles to Syria may help restrain "hotheads"
- Syrian opposition group praises EU's end to arms embargo but says it's not enough
No one was hurt in the city, which is a Hezbollah stronghold.
It was not immediately
known who fired the rockets. Hezbollah, the militant Shiite movement,
has been backing the Syrian government in its fight against
anti-government rebels.
Earlier Tuesday, three
Lebanese soldiers were killed when unknown armed men opened fire at a
military checkpoint near Lebanon's border with Syria, according to NNA.
The attack, in the eastern border town of Arsal, was branded a "heinous crime" by former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
"It requires all
political groups to be vigilant and wise, to enable the army to
accomplish its mission of protecting this peace, and to keep away from
ongoing operations aiming to drag Lebanon into the fighting inside
Syria, which will fuel incitement and turn the State and its military
and security institutions into a false witness of policies that are not
in the national interest," Hariri said in a statement published by NNA.
Inside McCain's secret trip to Syria
Demands of working on Syrian solutions
Russia to ship weapons to Syria
Arsal is known for its
links to Lebanese Sunni rebel sympathizers; some of its residents are
believed to be fighting under the banner of the radical group al-Nusra
Front.
Tuesday's attack on the
Lebanese army in Arsal marks the second such incident in the
northeastern town, where many Sunni residents accuse the Lebanese
military of conspiring with the Shiite Hezbollah in targeting Arsal
because it is considered to be the main smuggling route for the Syrian
rebels.
Afterward, the Free
Syrian Army's chief of staff vowed to "take all measures" against
Hezbollah militants if they don't halt their operations in support of
Damascus within 24 hours.
"I tell the Lebanese
president, Arab League chief and United Nations secretary-general that,
if Hezbollah's attack against Syrian territories does not stop within 24
hours, then we will take all measures and reach Hezbollah, even in
hell," Gen. Salam Idris told the Al Arabiya TV network. "We are being
subjected to genocide at the hands of Hezbollah."
In March, two Syrian jets fired three rockets into empty buildings near Arsal.
On Monday, a 17-year-old
girl was killed and two other people were wounded when four rockets
launched from Syria landed in Hermel, NNA reported.
As the civil war
threatens to expand beyond Syria's borders, the European Union voted
Monday to lift its embargo on arming Syrian rebels effective in August,
in a move that British Foreign Secretary William Hague said was intended
to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to negotiate.
"It was a difficult
decision for some countries, but it was necessary and right to reinforce
international efforts to reach a diplomatic solution to the conflict in
Syria," Hague said in a written statement.
"It was important for
Europe to send a clear signal to the Assad regime that it has to
negotiate seriously, and that all options remain on the table if it
refuses to do so."
Saving Syria's heart
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Violence surges in strategic Syrian city
The Syrian National Coalition, an opposition umbrella group, said the EU's decision did not go far enough.
Spokesman Louay Safi
predicted that the Syrian regime will "escalate its brutality" against
civilians during the coming weeks, before EU countries can send arms to
rebels.
A statement posted
Tuesday on the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency and attributed only to a
spokesperson for the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry blasted the move.
"The recent EU decision
exposes the falsity of their allegations and it proves they are
hindering the international efforts aimed at contributing to achieving a
political settlement to the crisis in Syria based on national dialogue
among the Syrians led by Syria," the spokesperson said.
The statement said "the
decision uncovers the political hypocrisy of France and Britain, which
claim to care about the interests of the Syrian people, while they push
at the European Union for taking new decisions to renew the economic
sanctions imposed on Syria and supply terrorists in Syria with weapons."
Russia to send more weapons to Syria
Russia's deputy foreign
minister slammed the EU's decision, saying that arming the rebels would
undermine the peace process and amount to an "example of double
standards."
Russia said it would
move ahead with plans to ship S-300 surface-to-air missiles to the
Syrian government, contending that doing so may help contain the
conflict.
"We believe that moves
like this one to a great degree restrain some hotheads from escalating
the conflict to the international scale, from involving external
forces," said Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, according to the
state-run Russia Today news agency.
"The S-300 supplies to Syria are being made under a contract that was signed several years ago," Ryabkov told reporters Tuesday.
Russia has long insisted
its weapons sales to the Syrian government stem from pre-existing
contracts, including some from the Soviet era.
Russia's announcement did not sit well with Israel, which is located just southwest of Syria.
"Obviously, from our
perspective, it is a threat at this stage," Defense Minister Moshe
Yaalon told reporters at a Home Front Command Base in Ramla, Israel.
"The shipments are not on their way yet, this I can say. I hope they
will not leave and if, God forbid, they reach Syria, we will know what
to do."
Unrest in Syria began in
March 2011, when regime security forces clamped down on peaceful
protesters. The conflict eventually morphed into a civil war that has
killed more than 80,000 people -- most of them civilians, according to
the United Nations. Dissidents say al-Assad's forces indiscriminately
shell neighborhoods that are known as opposition hotbeds; al-Assad says
his forces are trying to save the country from terrorists.
Western nations conflicted
While many countries --
including the United States, France and Britain -- have called for
al-Assad to step down, they have not agreed on whether to arm Syrian
rebels.
Britain and France led
efforts to lift the EU arms embargo on Syria. Both nations suggested
joining countries such as Qatar in providing weapons to rebels, arguing
such a step would strengthen moderate rebels and make them less reliant
on well-armed extremists in their ranks.
The United States has
been reluctant to arm rebels, fearing that the weapons could end up in
the wrong hands. In recent months, radical Islamic militants such as
members of al-Nusra Front have joined the rebels in fighting against the
regime. The United States has designated al-Nusra Front as a pro-al
Qaeda terrorist group.
But U.S. Defense
Secretary Chuck Hagel said this month that Washington was reconsidering
its policy of not providing weapons to the rebels.
"You look at, and rethink, all options. That doesn't mean you do or you will," Hagel said.
McCain makes unannounced trip to Syria
U.S. Sen. John McCain
entered Syria through Turkey on Monday, making him the highest-ranking
U.S. official to visit during the war.
The Arizona Republican
met with 18 commanders of the rebel Free Syrian Army near the country's
northern border, according to the Washington-based Syrian Emergency Task
Force, which helped plan the trip and traveled with McCain.
The rebels' "main
message was that we are desperate for ammunition, we are desperate for
weapons," said Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the group.
McCain has for months
urged that the United States support arming Syrian rebels. But during
his meeting with rebel leaders, McCain also mentioned his concerns about
extremism in the country, Moustafa said.
The FSA commanders said
they are confident that, if weapons go to the army's Supreme Military
Council, they "will not fall in the wrong hands," Moustafa said.
CNN's Holly Yan, Salma Abdelaziz and Elise Labott contributed to this report.
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