DUBAI – Saudi Arabia began supplying anti-aircraft missiles to the Syrian opposition "on a small scale" about two months ago, a source from the Gulf familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The shoulder-fired weapons were obtained mostly from suppliers in France and Belgium, the source told Reuters. France had paid for the transport of the weapons to the region.
The supplies were going to General Salim Idriss, leader of the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), who is still the kingdom's main "point man" in the opposition, the source said.
Without elaborating, the source said that Saudi Arabia was beginning to take a more active role in the Syrian conflict due to its recent intensification.
A foreign ministry spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
After cutting short his holiday in Morocco, King Abdullah returned to Saudi Arabia on Friday to deal with what state media described as "repercussions of the war that the region is currently witnessing."
Diplomatic sources in the kingdom say Riyadh has grown increasingly concerned after the entry of Lebanese Shi'ite militia Hezbollah into the conflict and the subsequent rebel defeat in Qusair.
