Qatari involvement in the Syrian Civil War

The Qatari involvement in the Syrian Civil War began in April 2012, with deliveries of arms to rebels in Syria from Qatar and has continued to the present day expanding itself to include military intervention against ISIL.

Support for rebels

The Financial Times reported that Qatar had funded the Syrian rebellion by at least $1 billion and "as much as $3 billion" over the first two years of the civil war.[1] It reported that Qatar was offering refugee packages of about $50,000 a year to defectors and family.[1]

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated that Qatar had fueled the war by delivering more weapons to Syria than any other country. In total, there were over 15 weapons cargo flights into Turkey between April 2012 and March 2013.[1][2]

Qatar operates a training base for rebels in its territory, in conjunction with U.S. military forces who ran the training, training about 1,200 rebels a year in three week courses.[3][4]

Qatar has provided support to rebel groups across the spectrum and has received criticism for not only funding more moderate rebels but also a coalition known as the Army of Conquest, which contains al-Qaeda linked groups.[5]

References
  1. Roula Khalaf and Abigail Fielding Smith (16 May 2013). "Qatar bankrolls Syrian revolt with cash and arms". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 June 2013. (subscription required)
  2. Roula Khalaf and Abigail Fielding-Smith (17 May 2013). "How Qatar seized control of the Syrian revolution". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 June 2013. (subscription required)
  3. Frank Gardner (13 November 2014). The Missing Students. From Our Own Correspondent. BBC Radio 4. Event occurs at 11:41. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  4. "Syrian Rebels Describe U.S.-Backed Training in Qatar". FRONTLINE. Public Broadcasting Service. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  5. Porter, Gareth (May 28, 2015). "Gulf allies and 'Army of Conquest'". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
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