U.S., UK Suspend Non-Lethal Assistance into Northern Syria

Britain said Wednesday it has suspended non-lethal aid to the opposition in northern Syria after Islamist rebels seized key bases belonging to the Free Syrian Army, following a similar move by the United States.

"We have no plans to deliver any equipment while the situation remains unclear," a spokesman for the British embassy in Ankara told Agence France Presse.

The Islamic Front, the largest Islamist rebel force in Syria, seized depots belonging to the Western-backed FSA near the Bab el-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on Saturday.

Britain is "in contact with the SMC (Supreme Military Council)" to investigate the status of British equipment, the spokesman said, referring to the highest military authority in the FSA.

The move does not mean that British support for the Syrian opposition is diminishing, he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Washington also suspended non-lethal aid to rebels in the Syrian north.

"We have seen reports that Islamic Front forces have seized the Atmeh headquarters and warehouses belonging to the Supreme Military Council and we are obviously concerned," T.J. Grubisha, spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Ankara, told AFP.

"Because of the current situation, the United States has suspended deliveries of non-lethal assistance into northern Syria," he said.

The Islamic Front, the largest Islamist rebel force in Syria, seized depots belonging to the FSA near the Bab el-Hawa border crossing with Turkey on Saturday.

The group on Tuesday also took control of the crossing itself, the Syrian Observatory for Human rights, a monitoring group, said.

Non-lethal aid provided to the rebels by Washington has included armored vehicles, night vision goggles and advanced communications equipment.

Grubisha said the U.S. decision to suspend such aid would not impact on humanitarian assistance which was coordinated by international and non-governmental organizations including the United Nations.

"We are gathering the facts and consulting with friends of the Syrian opposition on next steps in support of the Syrian people," Grubisha said.

"We are working with General Idriss and SMC staff to inventory the status of U.S. equipment and supplies provided to the SMC," he added, referring to the Supreme Military Council of the FSA headed by Selim Idriss.

The Islamic Front was formed last month when six groups merged and pledged to work towards forming an Islamic state. It has rejected the authority of the FSA.

Turkey on Tuesday shut its side of the border in Hatay province after the Islamic Front seized the Bab al-Hawa post, customs officials said in a statement.

"The crossing into Syria via Cilvegozu has been closed ... due to the clashes between rebel groups in Syria," the statement said.

But a foreign ministry official, contacted by AFP, said the measure was temporary and would not affect refugees entering Turkey.

Turkey, which is fiercely opposed to the regime of President Bashar Assad, has taken in about 600,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict and has become a base for Syrian rebels and army defectors who form the very core of the FSA.

The FSA was the first organized rebel military entity to emerge after peaceful demonstrations against the Assad regime in 2011 degenerated into an armed uprising.

Since then, numerous other groups have emerged, many of them Islamist, which are operating with a high degree of autonomy from the FSA if not totally independently.

Syria's civil war, which has killed more than 126,000 people and displaced millions, has become more complicated as jihadist and other rebel groups battle not only Assad but, increasingly, each other.

The United States has not committed to providing any weaponry for Syrian rebels out of fear that it may end up in the hands of extremists.