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Page last updated at 09:15 GMT, Saturday, 8 September 2012 10:15 UK

French missiles for Syrian rebels 'unlikely'

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It has been reported that France is considering supplying ground to air missiles to the Syrian rebels.

Shashank Joshi, research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told the Today programme that France may face controversy as "ground to air missiles are the big taboo".

The Telegraph's Con Coughlin, an author of many books on Middle Eastern affairs, fears intervention from outside actors may "sustain this conflict for many years beyond its normal life expectancy".

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