Chief of Syrian rebel army urges EU to lift arms embargo

Source :  Xinhua

BRUSSELS, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The chief of staff of Syria's rebel army on Wednesday called on the European Union (EU) nations to lift an arms embargo on Syria and supply the rebels with arms and ammunition.

Brigadier General Selim Idriss, the chief of staff of Supreme Military Council, said in the European Parliament that "if we have the arms and ammunition we need, we can bring down the regime within one month."

He told lawmakers from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe that while forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are still getting weapons and support from Iran and Russia, the Syrian rebels are the only one that is affected by the arms embargo.

The EU has imposed an arms embargo on Syria since May 2011. Britain is pushing to end the arms embargo and provide more aid to the rebels. However, other EU countries are worried that more weapons could fuel conflicts in Syria.

Syria has been witnessing unrest for nearly two years. The international community is keeping on mediation efforts in a bid to end violence and bloodshed in the country.

Assad said in a recent interview that he was ready "to negotiate with anyone, including militants who surrender their arms."

The embattled leader made the remarks as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry renewed calls for him to step down, saying in the last week that he was drafting diplomatic proposals about ways to "ease Assad out (of power)."