Britain gives £5m of kit to Syrian rebels, but guns are off the list

The Foreign Secretary said the financial aid would help protect civilians from “some of the worst of the violence”.

He said: “In the absence of diplomatic progress, the UK will do much more. We will expand our support to the Syrian people and the Syrian political opposition with an extra £5m in non-lethal practical assistance.

“This will help protect unarmed opposition groups, human rights activists and civilians from some of the worst of the violence.”

He said the money was in addition to, and separate from, existing humanitarian assistance. Speaking at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mr Hague said: “We expect that our assistance will include trauma and medical supplies for civilians in areas under regime control and could include items such as paramedic trauma kits, specialist trauma treatment, surgical equipment, field dressings, antibiotics, painkillers and water purification kitss.”

Mr Hague said assistance to the opposition would include communications equipment to “help political activists overcome the regime’s communications blockade”.

The Foreign Secretary said: “It’s well recognised that the situation in Syria is an affront to the conscience of humanity.”

He said the UN Security Council, which will meet again at the end of this month, had a responsibility to “stop the bloodshed”, but added: “The people of Syria cannot wait indefinitely.

“People are dying and are trapped without food and  shelter.”

Mr Hague said the Syrians “need urgent help” and so the UK was “greatly increasing” its support for them. More training would be provided to support the documentation by Syrian activists of human rights violations and abuses, and “to support steps to help Syrian opposition groups to uphold human rights”.

He added that assistance could also include life-saving protective equipment for civilians “to help those carrying out vital work in the crossfire”, such as body armour.

But he stressed that Britain would not provide lethal assistance, and that all of its support would be “consistent with our laws and values”.

“This is assistance that will help save lives, not abandon all Syrians to the mercy of the regime. It will help people caught up in a terrible conflict,” he said.

Efforts to get a united UN Security Council response – currently blocked by Russia and China – would continue, Mr Hague said. “We will not pause or rest in trying  to seek a diplomatic  solution.”

Mr Hague refused to say who Britain was speaking to from the political side of the Free Syrian Army. “I’m not going to name names, because these are people who are great enemies of the Assad regime, and they would be in danger if we did that,” he said.

Meanwhile, a rising tide of  civilians fleeing Syria’s violence is affecting four neighbouring countries where almost 150,000 are being helped in camps run by the UN refugee agency and its partners, officials said yesterday.

That figure counts only Syrians who have registered or are  in the process of registering as refugees. Officials acknowledge the real number of  Syrian refugees is likely to  be above 200,000 because tens of thousands are believed to have not yet registered..

In late June, UN agencies estimated they would need $193m (£123m) to help 185,000 refugees from Syria by the end of 2012. Spokesman Adrian Edwards said that UN offices in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq have all reported big increases this week in the number of registrants.