Syria rebels to get military support Members of the Free Syrian Army in Deir al-Zor The US and its allies have agreed to provide urgent military aid for the opposition in Syria as they seek to "redress the imbalance on the ground" after the intervention of Iran and its proxy forces backing the regime of Bashar al-Assad. At a meeting of the Friends of Syria group in Qatar, US secretary of state, John Kerry said they would "increase the scale of their assistance to the opposition" to counter military gains forged by Lebanese group Hizbollah. Declining to elaborate on details of the military support already pledged by President Obama, Mr Kerry said each country would do what it could to boost the capabilities of the Free Syria Army. He said the goal was to keep hopes alive for peace talks at the UN by sustaining pressure on Mr Assad. A communiqué issued by the 11 nations involved said they had agreed to "provide urgently all necessary materiel and equipment to the opposition." It demanded the withdrawal from Syria of Iranian and Iraqi fighters, as well as Shia Hizbollah guerrillas who helped the regime regain a strategic border town from mainly Sunni rebels two weeks ago. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, prime minister of Qatar, said arming the rebels was the only way to achieve peace in the country, where the civil war has claimed more than 90,000 lives. "We agreed that a political solution is important, but the balance of forces on the ground is also important," he said. The meeting discussed "qualitative steps to deal with the situation," he added. The US, which has already pledged to direct weapons to the opposition, said it hoped Russia, which has been providing sophisticated weaponry to the government, would use its influence to bring Damascus to the table in Geneva for talks jointly proposed by Washington and Moscow. US officials will this week meet their Russian counterparts and envoy Lakhdar Brahimi to discuss a date for talks in Geneva once the Syrian opposition finalises elections for a unified leadership. We agreed that a political solution is important, but the balance of forces on the ground is also important Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani "The key is to use leverage with people to bring them to the table for a political solution," said Mr Kerry, adding that the US would provide an additional $300m in humanitarian assistance. The meeting of nations opposed to the Syrian government comes after people close to Saudi thinking said that the oil-rich kingdom was going to provide more sophisticated weaponry to the opposition. William Hague, UK foreign secretary, said London had not made any decision on whether to provide lethal aid to the opposition, saying that any such decision would need parliamentary approval. A European diplomat said France was keen to enhance the opposition's capabilities, but concerned about arms falling into the wrong hands. The US and Qatar were joined by ministers from the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Egypt.