Enemies of Syria to meet in Qatari capital on June 22

The so-called Friends of Syria group is set to hold a meeting in the Qatari capital to discuss provision of more military assistance to the foreign-backed Takfiri militants inside Syria.

A French diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the meeting, which will be held in Doha on June 22, would be attended by eleven core member states of the anti-Syria alliance.

The participants of the Doha meeting will include the US secretary of state, the UK foreign secretary and the foreign ministers of Germany, Italy, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates,.

According to the French official, the forthcoming talks would address in a “concerted, coordinated and complementary manner” the ‘concerns’ raised by Salim Idriss, the military chief of the terrorist Free Syrian Army (FSA), during a ‘Friends of Syria’ meeting in Turkey last week.

Idriss had asked for more military support, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, the official said.

The Doha meeting will be held several days after the Syrian army regained full control of the strategic town of Qusayr, near the Lebanese border, on June 5, following three weeks of heavy fighting with the militants. Syrian forces have also dealt heavy blows to Takfiris in the northwestern city of Aleppo over the past days.

The French diplomat also stated that the “situation on the ground is urgent following the retaking of Qusayr and because of the threat to Aleppo as well as the suburbs of Damas (Damascus) and the southern part of the country.”

“We need to respond to the opposition’s need to rebalance power on the ground,” he added.

Ahead of the Doha talks, Louay Meqdad, an FSA spokesman, also demanded that the ‘Friends of Syria’ member states impose a no-fly zone over parts of the country, reiterating calls for heavier weapons.

The French diplomat further said that the June 22 discussions would focus on the upcoming Geneva 2 talks, which is likely to be held next month.

On June 14, US President Barack Obama ordered his administration to provide the militants in Syria with weapons, which include assault rifles, shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles. Russia and the UN have criticized the move by Washington.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on June 17 that European countries will “pay the price” if they send weapons to the militants.

Many people have died in the more than two years of foreign-sponsored militancy in Syria. The turmoil has also inflicted serious damage upon cities with religious and historical sites.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added six ancient sites in Syria to its list of endangered World Heritage sites due to the threat from the militancy in the country.