The US is debating what more it might do to help the Syrian opposition in its conflict with the government, John Kerry, US secretary of state, has said, amid reports of fresh sectarian killing in the eastern part of the country.
The US has weighed for months whether to give arms to the rebels, but the issue is now firmly on the table given the increased involvement of Hezbollah, the armed Lebanese Shia group, and Iran in backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the battlefield.
The diplomatic developments came on a day reports emerged of a raid by a group of Syrian rebels on a predominantly Shia Muslim village in Deir Az-zor province that resulted in the deaths of about 60 people, including many pro-government fighters.
Syrian forces are also reported to be preparing for a major offensive on rebel-held parts of the northern city of Aleppo.
“We are focusing our efforts now doing all that we can to support the opposition as they work to change the balance on the ground,” Kerry said at a joint news conference with William Hague, UK foreign secretary, in Washington DC on Wednesday.
The Obama administration is meeting this week on the issue of arming the Syrian rebels, a topic that Kerry said he discussed with Hague.
