Group Gets U.S. License to Fund Syria Rebels
The U.S. has given a Washington-based group clearance to provide direct financial assistance to the Free Syrian Army, a new bid by the Obama administration to support Syria’s opposition.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control approved a license last week allowing the Syrian Support Group “to engage in otherwise prohibited financial activities with the Free Syrian Army,” Treasury spokesman John Sullivan said Tuesday.
The license doesn’t permit the group to ship military equipment or hardware, but it does authorize it to send financial aid. “The big one is financing. That for the most part is fairly open,” said Brian Sayers, director of government relations for the support group.
The Syrian Support Group was established earlier this year to lobby for U.S. backing for the Free Syrian Army. It includes Syrian expatriates and works with retired Syrian military officers, Louay Sakka, a Syrian-Canadian co-founder of the group, said in a June interview. Mr. Sayers, its director of government relations, is a former political officer at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The license comes as rebel forces and government troops fought for the 11th straight day in Syria’s largest city, Aleppo.