Egypt warns against arming Syrian rebels

Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr has warned against arming Syrian rebels, saying such a move could lead to a full-blown civil war in Syria. Amr made the remarks on Monday, calling for a peaceful solution to the situation in the country. "We want to give a chance for UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's mission to Syria to see what will come of it… I hope that there would be a non-military solution to the crisis through the Arab states' initiative,” he said. "Arming the Syrian opposition, as Egypt sees it, will increase the rate of killings and will transform the situation in Syria as a whole to a full civil war," Amr added. The comments came a day after representatives from Western and some Arab states met in Turkey to discuss the situation in Syria. On Sunday, several Persian Gulf Arab states and the United States pledged 100 million dollars to provide salaries and communications equipment for Syrian rebels fighting against the government. The countries, led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, made the offer at an Istanbul conference of the “Friends of Syria”, a grouping of some 70 Western and Arab countries, which Damascus calls the "enemies of Syria”. Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011 and many people, including security forces, have lost their lives in the violence. The West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of killing the protesters. But Damascus blames ''outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups'' for the unrest, stating that it is being orchestrated from abroad.