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LequteMan
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CIA-funded weapons have begun flowing to Syrian rebels, a U.S. official told CNN late Wednesday night.
"That is something we are not going to dispute, but we are not going to publicly speak to it," the official said.
The light weapons (some anti-tank weapons and ammunitions) are not American-made, but are funded and organized by the CIA.
The supply is in addition to the non-lethal aid that the United States has been providing the rebels since April, when the nature of the aid was altered to include items such as body armor, night vision goggles and other military equipment.ls
The official added that the weapons started to reach rebels about two weeks ago and insisted that the efforts did not start in order to appease those calling for more aid during the new diplomatic initiative with Russia but had been in the works for some time.
CNN could not reach members of the rebel forces early Thursday morning.
The latest developments come on the eve of new diplomatic negotiations between the United States and Russia, which begin Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland.
US Secretary John Kerry will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for two days to discuss a Moscow proposal to avert a U.S.-led strike in Syria by having the Syrian government put its chemical weapons stockpile under international control.
But as Russia continues to supply Bashar Al-Assad's regime with weapons while the U.S. supplies the rebels, the baggage being brought to the negotiation table continues to pile up before talks have even begun.
