Saudi officials are to pay the Free Syria Army wages in a bid to encourage mass defections, reports The Guardian on Friday.
Following on from a recent wave of weapons, sent to the rebels by Saudi Arabia and Qatar across the Turkish border, this latest move was discussed last month between US and Arab officials.
According to The Guardian, the rebels will be paid in either US dollars or euros, in view of the Syrian pounds sharp decline.
Spokesperson to US Senator Joe Lieberman, said,
"Senator Lieberman has called for the US to provide robust and comprehensive support to the armed Syrian opposition, in co-ordination with our partners in the Middle East and Europe. He has specifically called for the US to work with our partners to provide the armed Syrian opposition with weapons, training, tactical intelligence, secure communications and other forms of support to change the military balance of power inside Syria."
"Senator Lieberman also supports the idea of ensuring that the armed opposition fighters receive regular and sufficient pay, although he does not believe it is necessary for the United States to provide this funding itself directly."
The news comes as a Turkish fighter plane was shot down by the Syrian military on Thursday night. According to Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “Syria immediately offered a very serious apology for the incident and admitted it was a mistake.”
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, were long-time allies of the Assad regime.