UK to step up help for Syrian rebels

The UK is to increase the assistance it is giving to Syrian opposition forces in the coming weeks, Foreign Secretary William Hague has said. The UK would be offering a “great deal” of “practical” help to forces opposed to the regime of Bashar-al-Assad but not weapons, he was reported by The BBC as saying. UN envoy Kofi Annan resigned on Thursday blaming divisions in the UN Security Council for lack of progress. Hague said the crisis had not been “handled well” by the UN. China and Russia have vetoed a number of UN resolutions calling for sanctions and other action against the Assad regime, arguing foreign intervention in the conflict is undesirable. At talks in Downing Street on Thursday, David Cameron and Vladimir Putin acknowledged differences over how to respond to the violence in Syria, which has claimed an estimated 20,000 lives. Annan’s departure came as the fight for control of Syria’s largest city Aleppo continued. Hague said the UK was already assisting forces opposed to the Assad regime and would give more details of further support in the coming weeks.