DHAKA: At a makeshift workshop on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, teenagers are busy sorting through metal scrap while a man, sitting cross-legged in a corner, makes homemade rockets.

‘The regime is supported by all the big, rich countries,’ says Samir, never once taking his eyes off his delicate task.

‘All we have is the help of God. Western countries were supposed to send us weapons. Well, here we are. We have to build everything ourselves. Everything here is homemade – 100 percent homemade.’

With the Syrian conflict showing no signs of abating, the asymmetrical use of force and lopsided access to arms by the two sides has seen the rise of dozens of workshops making all sorts of weapons for the rebel fighters.

Although the European Union has lifted its arms embargo and US president Barack Obama has signalled that the US will increase aid to Syria’s rebels, in reality, the deliveries have lagged, largely due to Western fears that any military assistance could wind up in the hands of jihadists.

And so, men like Samir and Yasser, the owner of the workshop, have been hard at work, manufacturing a range of weapons including rockets, grenades, missiles and mortar shells, reports france24.com.

BDST: 1839 HRS, OCT 09, 2013
RoR/MZR