Kerry says US confident that allies’ weapons going to rebels, not extremists

DOHA, Qatar – Secretary of State John Kerry says the Obama administration is confident that weapons being supplied to Syrian rebels by U.S. allies are going to moderates and not in great numbers to extremists.

Kerry said Tuesday that there are now “greater guarantees” that nearly all the arms and ammunition being supplied to rebels by countries like Qatar are getting into the hands of moderates. He said there’s never a full guarantee that some weaponry won’t fall into the wrong hands, but not enough to change the battlefield balance of power.

Kerry said the Obama administration was aware of the arms flows and that knowledge informed the president’s decisions on what the U.S. should supply. The U.S. is not providing the rebels with lethal military aid.