Most Britons oppose arming militants in Syria: Poll

A new poll has found that a majority of the British public oppose arming foreign-backed terrorists fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

According to an Opinium/Observer poll published on Saturday, over three quarters (78 percent) of those surveyed believe the UK remains too stretched by the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan to engage in a new military intervention.

The survey also revealed that less than a quarter of Britons (24 percent) think Britain should arm militants fighting against the Syrian government.

It was also found that almost three quarters (72 percent) of the public believe the UK can no longer afford to act as a major military power.

On May 27, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that European Union (EU) foreign ministers meeting in Brussels have reached an agreement to lift the arms embargo on militants in Syria, while maintaining other sanctions on the country.

Syria has been gripped by a deadly unrest since March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of government security personnel, have been killed in the foreign-sponsored militancy.