How do rebels get weapons

Most likely, based on the other items the US is sending to the Syrian rebels, the ammunition is intended to be used with the PK machine gun, which the US is also sending to the rebels. The The ammunition can also be used for anti-aircraft fire and for taking both armored and unarmored vehicles. The 9MM is a wire-guided anti-tank missile. The missile has a range of 1. The PK machine gun is a general-purpose machine gun that can be used in a variety of situations.

The weapon can be used by front-line infantry, as well as being used as a vehicle-mounted weapon. Due to the method of US accounting for arms shipments, some armaments were listed together.

AKs are one of the most popular rifles used in the world due to their ease of use and sturdiness. The DShK is a heavy machine gun that can also be used as a heavy infantry machine gun. The half-hearted embargo by the EU, and similar efforts by Washington to apply pressure on Cairo by withholding advanced weapons shipments, illustrate how a country such as Egypt can insulate itself from political pressure delivered by its arms suppliers.

As the report notes, these efforts in Western capitals resulted in Egypt looking elsewhere for weapons, including exploring the possibility of an arms agreement with Russia. But examining the role that international arms transfers are playing to fuel violence in other post-Arab Spring states is an effort severely undermined by the lack of transparency governing such shipments. Since civil war arrived in Syria in , several world powers have attempted to curtail arms shipments destined for forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Nonetheless, the report notes that media accounts indicate that Russia, Iran, and North Korea continue to supply the regime with weaponry. While the EU has imposed an arms embargo, Russia has blocked the creation of a similar U. While the Small Arms Survey advocates for restraint in supplying weapons to these unstable regions, several Western governments have nonetheless provided arms to rebel groups seen as allies against either extremist groups or repressive regimes.

Western arms shipments to Kurdish Peshmerga forces, for example, present significant risks both of misuse and that they will end up in the wrong hands. Case in point: When U. In other cases, Syrian rebel groups have obtained U. Throughout southeastern Europe, arms stockpiles left over from the Soviet era on the one hand present opportunities for export — Croatian arms have, for example, been purchased and funneled toward rebels friendly toward the United States.

On the other hand, such stockpiles pose life-threatening risks for the local population. According to the Small Arms Survey , 51 explosions occurred at munitions sites in southeastern Europe between and , resulting in more than casualties.

Many Balkan states have moved to reduce the size of these arms stockpiles, which are poorly maintained and cataloged. But that effort has been undermined by commercial priorities. That lack of oversight makes the weapons ripe for theft or illicit sale. Perhaps nowhere has the proliferation of Cold War-era weapons been more acutely felt than in Mali, where the government, with the support of France, has for the last three years sought to put down a separatist rebellion that has seen an influx of jihadi fighters and groups.

Hama Rif, May 1, Grad rockets are typically sent using multiple BM21, mm rocket launchers with 40 tubes. In this video, rebels are using only one launching tube. Hezbollah and Hamas have also used this technique, both to improve mobility and to improve their range.

Grad multiple rocket launchers using 14 locally-made tubes. A Soviet-made 57 mm anti-aircraft gun pulled by a tractor. Qusayr, Homs region, May 2, A young engineer-turned-rebel optimised his rifle by adding on a viewfinder connected to a webcam. Kouiress, March 27, Locally-made remote-controlled anti-aircraft gun affixed to a 4x4. Deir-Ezzor, August 10, Rocket launcher and locally-made rockets mounted on a 4x4 Land Rover.

Kurdish Jabal, April 18, His neighbourhood has been under siege from the Syrian army for the last several months. Each time we are bombed by planes releasing cluster bombs [aerial bombs that can explode before hitting their target and that release smaller bombs], we wait for the blasts to stop and then go searching for unexploded bombs to extract their powder.

Then we use this powder to build explosives as well as cartridges, shells, rockets, etc. A good chunk of our weapons come from the Syrian army.