For months, a military stalemate has defined the war in Syria. Now, a new strategy is emerging as Western allies and Gulf states step up support for rebels in southern Syria.
Along Jordan's northern border, Syrian rebels say they are unifying their fractious ranks, urged to unite by Western and Arab intelligence operatives who work in a covert command center in Jordan's capital.
Rebel sources confirm pledges of stepped-up deliveries of arms and intelligence sharing. The idea is to support more secular groups in Syria's south, to pressure the Assad regime from rebel strongholds along the southern border.
Saudi Arabia has long been covertly supplying arms to the rebels. "Saudis would like to change the balance of power inside Syria," says Labeeb Kamhawi, a Jordanian analyst. "So the best way to make sure this happens is to make Saudi presence inside Syria on the ground noticeable to everybody."
On a Jordanian highway, more than two dozen trucks line the side of the road. These are Saudi trucks; the sign on the side says, "The Saudi National Campaign — Support for Brothers in Syria."
There is an official logo on each one. These deliveries have gained momentum since talks between the regime and rebels collapsed in Geneva earlier this year.
Sources in Jordan say these trucks are filled with humanitarian aid, and that's what's new: Saudis are now moving humanitarian aid into southern Syria.
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