Syrian rebel chief on U.S. non-lethal aid: "The only thing we want is weapons" - CBS News

A Syrian child, injured by heavy bombing from military warplanes, is seen in the town of Hanano in Aleppo, Syria, March 1, 2013, in this citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting. / AP Photo/Aleppo Media Center AMC

The chief of Syrian rebel forces said Friday that his fighters are in "desperate" need of weapons and ammunition rather than the food supplies and bandages that the U.S. now plans to provide.

The Obama administration on Thursday announced it was giving an additional $60 million in assistance to the country's political opposition and said that it would, for the first time, provide non-lethal aid directly to rebels battling to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The move was announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at an international conference on Syria in Rome, and several European nations are expected in the coming days to take similar steps in working with the military wing of the opposition in order to ramp up pressure on Assad to step down and pave the way for a democratic transition. 

A number of Syrian opposition figures and fighters on the ground, however, expressed disappointment with the limited assistance.

Gen. Salim Idris, chief of staff of the Syrian opposition's Supreme Military Council, said the modest package of aid to rebels — consisting of an undetermined amount of food rations and medical supplies — will not help them win against Assad's forces who have superior air power...........

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