Oxfam reaction to US plan to ship arms to Syrian opposition

In reaction to today’s announcement from the Obama Administration to move ahead with its program to arm the opposition in Syria:

Shannon Scribner, Humanitarian Media Manager at Oxfam America, said:

“Oxfam is deeply disappointed in the decision of the House and Senate intelligence committees to approve weapons shipments to Syria, allowing the Obama administration to move ahead with its program to arm the opposition.

“The Syrian conflict is the world's largest humanitarian crisis. More than 100,000 people have been killed and 8 million people across the region-many of them children-require humanitarian assistance. Sending more weapons to either side will only exacerbate the conflict and prolong the humanitarian catastrophe.

“The United Nations has reported that both sides of the conflict have committed violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The United States government and others, therefore, have a clear obligation not to send weapons to either side as these abuses continue.

“What's needed in Syria is political solutions to bring the conflict and suffering to an end. The US and other countries, especially Russia, need to bring the parties to the negotiating table to end the bloodshed. Sending more guns is not the solution.”