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In Syria, New Weapons to Rebels Tilts the Battle Against Assad
(Washington Post) Liz Sly and Karen DeYoung - A surge of rebel advances in Syria is being fueled at least in part by an influx of heavy weaponry in a renewed effort by outside powers to arm moderates in the Free Syrian Army. The new armaments, including anti-tank weapons and recoilless rifles, have been sent across the Jordanian border to counter the growing influence of Islamist extremist groups in the north by boosting more moderate groups fighting in the south. The shift was prompted by the realization that rebel gains across the north of the country over the past year were posing no major threat to the regime in Damascus located in the south. The M-79 anti-tank weapons in particular appear to be giving the rebels new confidence to attack government positions and armor, said Jeff White of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.