France: No Arms for Syrian Opposition France's foreign minister has rejected weapons requests by the Syrian rebel forces, saying Thursday that arming the Syrian opposition could lead to catastrophic civil war. The Syrian opposition is divided as it marks one year since its uprising against President Bashar Assad's regime. And diplomatic efforts to end the conflict that has killed at least 7,500 people appear to be stalling. Russia, a powerful ally of Syria's, is opposed to any new sanctions or international action in Syria but offered its support Thursday to former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan in his efforts to help end the violence. Syrian rebel forces are asking for new weapons after defeats by government troops. But leading world powers such as the United States and France seem wary of getting embroiled in a new conflict after months of NATO-led airstrikes in Libya. "The Syrian people are deeply divided, and if we give arms to a certain faction of the Syrian opposition, we would make a civil war among Christians, Alawites, Sunnis and Shiites," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on France-Culture radio Thursday. France, Syria's former colonial ruler, is backing the opposition against Assad and pushing for Assad's departure. Juppe says arming the opposition could lead to "a catastrophe even larger than the one that exists today." Many Syrian opposition members are in Paris but divisions have kept them from forming a single unified force that the international community is rallying behind. Juppe's comments echoed those of President Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday, who warned that an international response could lead to more deaths. In this March 9, 2012 citizen journalism image provided by the Homs City Union of The Syrian Revolution, smoke rise from a building that was shelled by the Syrian army, at Jeb al-Jandali neighborhood in Homs province, central Syria. Two prominent Syrian dissidents said Wednesday they have quit the main opposition group that emerged from the year-old uprising against the regime in Damascus in protest over what one of the men described as an "autocratic" organization. "Our natural instinct is to act," Obama said. It's very important for us to make sure that we have thought through all of our actions before we take those steps. After two significant defeats at the hands of Syrian government troops, the country's rebel forces are low on cash and running out of weapons. Send us weapons," Ahmad Kassem, who coordinates military operations for the rebel Free Syrian Army, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Russia, meanwhile, says it is continuing to supply weapons to Syria's government that could be used to fend off external threats - but not against protesters. Libya's Moammar Gadhafi and Syria's Assad were Russian allies before uprisings last year started sweeping away entrenched Arab leaders. Gadhafi was killed last year. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by telephone Thursday with Annan and expressed support for his efforts, Lavrov's office said. Annan, the joint U.N.-Arab League envoy, visited Syria over the weekend and had two meetings with Assad. U.N. diplomats said Annan would brief the Security Council by videoconference on Friday. "Lavrov again expressed his support for the envoy's mission, noting that Russia would provide him with active assistance," the Foreign Ministry said. Lavrov issued unusual criticism of Assad's regime this week, which Germany's foreign minister welcomed. "I hope this is a sign that we will find our way to a common position," Guido Westerwelle said in a statement Thursday. Syrians first took to the streets in March last year to call for political reforms, and the protests spread as Assad's security forces violently cracked down. Some in the opposition have since taken up arms. Saudi Arabia said Thursday it's closing its embassy in Damascus, after several other countries did the same. State media in Bahrain says the Gulf kingdom decided to shut down its embassy in Damascus on Thursday and withdraw all diplomats and staff from the Syrian capital "because of the worsening security conditions." Lynn Berry in Moscow, Barbara Surk in Dubai and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.