In a setback for David Cameron, 52 per cent of people say they would oppose the Government providing arms to the Syrian rebels, while 35 per cent would support the move and 13 per cent are undecided, according to a poll by the British daily The Independent.

According to ComRes, women (54 per cent) are more likely to be against supplying arms than men (51 per cent). Liberal Democrat supporters (60 per cent) are more likely to oppose the idea than Labor voters (52 per cent) and Conservatives (50 per cent).

But people intending to vote for the UK Independence Party favor supplying arms by a narrow margin of 45 to 43 per cent.

According to the newspapers, the findings will strengthen the hand of politicians who are reluctant to see Britain send weapons in case it fans the flames of two-year bloody insurgency in Syria which has been marked with extremism and brutal violence.

The UK pressed hard for the European Union’s arms embargo to be lifted, and the US government has pledged that the Washington will supply more arms to the insurgents.

But Cameron insists no decision has been taken by his Government to send weapons.

Britain, and other European countries that have been watching departure of their citizens going to fight alongside terrorists in Syria, are now worried about return of these extremist fighters.

UK has recently changed tone on the crisis in Syria, from being an absolute supporter of the militants to an apparently reluctant one that is now having second thoughts about stepping up military support to the insurgent side of the conflict.

However hopes for getting closer to a political solution has become slimmer due to Washington’s unilateral controversial moves to arm insurgents, train them or even dispatch trained ones into the war-torn Syria. Meanwhile US has also been calling for political solutions.
 

The US has been showing a double-standard policy on Syria crisis, especially since a Doha meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria, which prompted Moscow to ask the Obama administration to announce a final stance on the conflict.

Syria crisis started as pro-reform protests but with interventions by the United States, UK and their regional and Western allies it soon turned to a massive insurgency which took in numerous terrorist groups from all over Europe and the Middle East to wage one of the bloodiest wars the region has ever experienced.

The war, which many fear is turning to a “war of hatred”, has already taken more than 90,000 lives.