Washington, Apr 18 (PTI) The US is secretly financing opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad, including funding a satellite TV channel that beams anti-government news into the country, according to leaked diplomatic papers.
The London-based satellite channel, Barada TV, began broadcasting in April 2009 but has ramped up operations to cover the mass protests in Syria as part of a long-standing campaign to overthrow the country's autocratic leader, Bashar al-Assad, The Washington Post reported today citing the website 'WikiLeaks'.
The reports of secret funding of Assad's rivals comes as human rights groups said scores of people have been killed by Assad's security forces since a public uprising began on March 18. Syria has blamed the violence on "armed gangs."
The leaked documents, according to the Post, show that America has provided at least USD 6 million to the channel and other opposition groups inside Syria.