Conflict

Syria Could Become Regional War

Iraq Sunnis, al Qaeda join opposition.

Syria’s opposition is getting a helping hand from Iraqi Sunnis, a sign that the conflict in Syria could be on its way to becoming a regional sectarian war. The Sunnis are selling weapons to the Syrian opposition, possibly in the hope that a bolstered Syrian opposition could strengthen their position in their fight with their own country’s Shiite-led national government. Adding to fears that Syria could soon descend into a regional war, Al Qaeda’s leadership and the Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood called for jihadists from around the world to come fight Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Assad’s government, meanwhile, has rejected a new Arab League proposal for a joint peacekeeping mission with the United Nations.