Image caption The escalating carnage in Syria has increased pressure for western intervention 
 
 The US is to step up its support for the Syrian opposition as it fights to topple President Bashar al-Assad, Secretary of State John Kerry says. 
 
 Mr Kerry said the US would provide direct support to rebel forces in the form of medical and food supplies. 
 
 He also promised an additional $60m (£40m) in aid to the opposition to help it deliver basic governance and other services in rebel-controlled areas. 
 
 Mr Kerry was speaking at a gathering of the Friends of Syria group in Rome. 
 
 On Friday he is travelling to Ankara to discuss the Syria crisis with top Turkish officials. 
 
 'Out of time' 
 
 The promise of direct, non-lethal aid to the rebels represents a shift in US policy on Syria, correspondents say. 
 
 Media caption John Kerry: "This funding will allow the opposition... to be able to rebuild" 
 
 However it falls short of providing the weapons and munitions that the rebels say they need to defeat government forces. 
 
 Mr Kerry said the decision was designed to increase the pressure on President Assad to step down and allow a democratic transition. 
 
 "The US decision to take further steps now is the result of the brutality of superior armed force propped up by foreign fighters from Iran and Hezbollah. 
 
 "President Assad is out of time and must be out of power," said Mr Kerry, adding that the Syrian leader could not "shoot his way out" of the situation. 
 
 The $60m in aid to the opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) represents a doubling of US support. 
 
 It was intended to help the opposition deliver governance and basic services in rebel-controlled areas, said Mr Kerry. 
 
 "As the regime continues to lose ground it will help the opposition extend stability and build representative government and the rule of law," he added. 
 
 The signals are clear. Diplomatic patience is running out and the international calculus is slowly shifting. The debate on arming the Syrian opposition is not going to go away. Non-lethal military aid looks to be the next step for some governments. The problem is that the arming debate is no simple one. More weapons may even up the contest but equally could increase the bloodshed in the short term. How could weapons be kept out of the hands of extremist Islamist groups? And is it really true, as some have argued, that supplying weaponry will boost the influence of Western governments among groups that will have a key role in any post-Assad Syria? One reason the diplomatic clock has been moving so slowly is, in fairness, that while terrible events have been taking place on the ground, there are probably no easy diplomatic answers to be found. Frustration forces Western shift on Syria 
 
 After the meeting, the European Union announced changes to its arms embargo on Syria, allowing EU states to provide armoured vehicles, non-lethal military equipment and technical aid to the rebels, but not weapons. 
 
 At the meeting with Mr Kerry, leader of the SNC, Moaz al-Khatib, said he was still frustrated by the lack of military help for rebel fighters. 
 
 He initially refused to attend the Rome talks in protest at a lack of international support for the Syrian rebels, but was persuaded after the US and UK indicated there would be specific promises of aid. 
 
 Mosque 'captured' 
 
 Speaking at the meeting Mr Khatib called on President Assad to make "one wise decision in your life" and stand down "for the future of your country". 
 
 Earlier this month he also suggested for the first time that talks with the Assad government might be possible, though that suggestion remains controversial among opposition groups. 
 
 The SNC says it plans to set up a government to administer rebel-held areas of Syria, primarily in the north of the country close to the Turkish border. 
 
 But a meeting to select the prime minister, scheduled for the weekend, was unexpectedly postponed on Thursday, and no new date has been set. 
 
 Meanwhile fighting in Syria continues and the humanitarian situation is worsening. 
 
 In the latest fighting, rebel forces have captured the historic Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo, according to an activist group. 
 
 The mosque was damaged and its museum caught fire as rebels forced government troops to withdraw, UK-based activist group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. 
 
 Fighting also raged elsewhere in Aleppo's old city, including near the Palace of Justice, it added. 
 
 'New phase' 
 
 Aleppo - Syria's second city - has been a key battleground in the conflict. 
 
 Mr Kerry highlighted the fate of the city in his address, accusing President Assad of engaging in "ruthless attacks" with Scud missiles against rebel-held areas. 
 
 According to UN estimates, more than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria since the revolt against President Assad began nearly two years ago. 
 
 Opposition fighters have been constantly outgunned as President Assad's forces deploy tanks, aircraft and missiles against them. 
 
 Image caption The Syrian rebels say weapons and ammunition are what they need most 
 
 The UN's refugees agency says the number of Syrians who have fled the conflict into neighbouring countries is now approaching one million, while two million have been internally displaced. 
 
 The World Health Organisation has warned of disease outbreaks and worsening medical services. 
 
 Earlier, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Friends of Syria were determined to "ramp up" assistance to the opposition. 
 
 "We are entering a new phase in the response of Western and Arab nations to the crisis in Syria," he said. 
 
 The Friends of Syria organisation has broad international support, but does not include Syrian allies Russia and China. 
 
 On Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks on Syria with his French counterpart Francois Hollande. 
 
 He conceded that there were differences in the positions of Russia and France, but said both had agreed that Syria should not be allowed to break apart as a result of the conflict. ||||| ROME (Reuters) - Western powers pledged aid for Syrian rebels on Thursday but stopped short of offering them weapons, disappointing opponents of President Bashar al-Assad clamoring for more arms. 
 
 More than 70,000 Syrians have been killed in a fierce conflict that began with peaceful anti-Assad protests nearly two years ago. 
 
 Washington has given $385 million in humanitarian aid for Syria but U.S. President Barack Obama has so far refused to give arms, arguing it is difficult to prevent them from falling into the hands of militants who could use them on Western targets. 
 
 The United States said it would for the first time give non-lethal aid to the rebels and would more than double its support to Syria’s civilian opposition, casting it as a way to bolster the rebels’ popular support. 
 
 The help will include medical supplies, food for rebel fighters and $60 million to help the civil opposition provide basic services like security, education and sanitation. 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the new steps after a meeting of 11 mostly European and Arab nations within the “Friends of Syria” group. 
 
 The European Union, acting on a decision this month to send direct aid to the rebels, said it had amended sanctions on Syria to permit the supply of armored vehicles, non-lethal military equipment and technical aid, provided they were intended to protect civilians. 
 
 If the provision of non-lethal assistance goes smoothly, it could conceivably offer a model for providing weaponry should Western governments ultimately decide to do so. 
 
 The aid offered for now did not appear to entirely satisfy the Syrian National Council opposition, a fractious Cairo-based group that has struggled to gain traction inside Syria, especially among disparate rebel forces. 
 
 “Many sides ... focus (more) on the length of the rebel fighter’s beard than they do on the blood of the children being killed,” Syrian National Coalition President Moaz Alkhatib said at an appearance with Kerry and Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi. 
 
 A rebel commander in Aleppo, Syria’s second city left devastated by several months of heavy fighting, said the lack of arms was the main obstacle to victory for his forces. 
 
 “We hope ... that weapons will flow and things will change but we are not waiting for them - we are going ahead with our fighting plans on the ground,” the commander, Abdel-Jabbar Oqaidi, told Reuters by Skype. 
 
 He estimated that four fifths of the city was now under rebel control and the insurgents had taken over Aleppo’s historic Umayyad mosque and the Palace of Justice. The claim could not immediately be verified. 
 
 A picture posted on the Internet showed what activists said was a rebel fighter prostrate in prayer in the Umayyad mosque’s courtyard, its blackened archways still bearing signs of a fire which damaged the 13th century complex last year. 
 
 The rebels were still fighting for control of three airports in the Aleppo region, Oqaidi said. 
 
 DISAPPOINTMENT 
 
 In what analysts described as a sign of disappointment at the West’s reluctance to send arms, Syria’s political opposition postponed talks to choose the leader of a provisional government, two opposition sources told Reuters in Beirut. 
 
 Opposition leaders hoped a Saturday meeting in Istanbul would elect a prime minister to operate in rebel-controlled areas of Syria, threatened by a slide into chaos as the conflict between Assad’s forces and insurgents nears its second anniversary. 
 
 While one source said the meeting might happen later in the week, a second source said it had been put off because the three most likely candidates for prime minister had reservations about taking the role without more concrete international support. 
 
 “The opposition has been increasingly signaling that it is tired of waiting and no one serious will agree to be head of a government without real political and logistical support,” said Syrian political commentator Hassan Bali, who lives in Germany. 
 
 Bali said the United States and other members of the core “Friends of Syria” nations appeared intent “on raising the ante against Assad but are not sure how.” 
 
 A final communiqué said participants would “coordinate their efforts closely so as to best empower the Syrian people and support the Supreme Military Command of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army in its efforts to help them exercise self-defense”. 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) gestures next to Syrian National Coalition head Mouaz al-Khatib during a news conference at Villa Madama in Rome February 28, 2013. REUTERS/Remo Casilli 
 
 Kerry said the United States would for the first time provide assistance - in the form of medical supplies and the standard U.S. military ration known as Meals Ready to Eat, or MREs - to the fighters. 
 
 A U.S. official told reporters it would give the aid only to carefully vetted fighters, adding that the United States was worried that “extremists” opposed to democracy, human rights and tolerance were gaining ground in the country. 
 
 “Those members of the opposition who support our shared values ... need to set an example of a Syria where daily life is governed neither by the brutality of the Assad regime nor by the agenda of al Qaeda affiliated extremists,” the official said. 
 
 REBELS WANT ANTI-TANK, ANTI-AIRCRAFT WEAPONS 
 
 The continued U.S. refusal to send weapons may compound the frustration that prompted the coalition to say last week it would shun the Rome talks. It attended only under U.S. pressure. 
 
 Many in the coalition say Western reluctance to arm rebels only plays into the hands of Islamist militants now widely seen as the most effective forces in the struggle to topple Assad. 
 
 With fighting raging on largely sectarian lines, French President Francois Hollande said at a Moscow summit that new partners were needed to broker talks on ending the crisis, winning guarded support from Russian President Vladimir Putin. 
 
 “We think that this dialogue must find a new form so that it speaks to all parties,” said Hollande, giving few details of his proposal. 
 
 Putin said Russia - one of Assad’s staunchest allies - would look at Hollande’s proposal, “which I think we could consider with all our partners and try to carry out.” 
 
 Russia has said Assad’s departure must not be a precondition for talks and a political solution, while the West has sided with Syria’s opposition in demanding his removal from power. 
 
 Kerry’s offer of medical aid and food rations fell far short of rebel demands for sophisticated anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to help turn the tables against Assad’s mostly Russian-supplied forces. 
 
 It also stopped short of providing other forms of non-lethal assistance such as bullet-proof vests, armored personnel vehicles and military training to the insurgents. 
 
 Slideshow (8 Images) 
 
 Last week the European Union opened the way for direct aid to Syrian rebels, but did not lift an arms embargo on Syria. 
 
 Kerry said the U.S. role should not be judged in isolation but in the context of what other nations will do. 
 
 “What we are doing ... is part of a whole,” he said. “I am absolutely confident ... that the totality of this effort is going to have an impact of the ability of the Syrian opposition to accomplish its goals.” ||||| U.S. To Give Syrian Opposition $60 Million More In Non-Lethal Aid, Kerry Says 
 
 The Obama administration will ask Congress for an additional $60 million in aid to help the Syrian opposition council provide basic goods and services in areas under rebel control, Secretary of State John Kerry announced Thursday in Rome. 
 
 NPR's Michele Kelemen, who is among the correspondents traveling with Kerry on his first overseas trip since becoming secretary, tells our Newscast Desk that the U.S. "is also offering non-lethal assistance to the free Syrian army — in the form of food rations and medical supplies." She adds that "U.S. officials say that the Syrian opposition laid out many other needs in talks with Kerry and the Obama administration is 'keeping that under review.' " 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 The BBC starts its report on the news this way: 
 
 "The U.S. is to step up its support for the Syrian opposition as it fights to topple President Bashar al-Assad, Secretary of State John Kerry says. Mr. Kerry said the US would provide 'direct support' in the form of medical and food supplies to rebel forces. He also promised an additional $60 million in aid to the opposition to help it deliver basic governance and other services in rebel-controlled areas. ... " 'President Assad is out of time and must be out of power,' Mr. Kerry said, adding that the Syrian leader could not 'shoot his way out' of the situation." 
 
 As the BBC reminds its readers, "the U.N. estimates 70,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict since 2011." 
 
 Thursday's announcement was not quite what The Washington Post, CBS News and some other news outlets were predicting a day earlier. As we reported Wednesday, they said the U.S. was also contemplating giving rebels "equipment such as body armor and armored vehicles," though not weapons. 
 
 Today, the Post writes that: ||||| The Obama administration will provide food and medicine to Syrian rebel fighters, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Thursday, announcing a cautious U.S. foray into front-line battlefield support that falls far short of the heavy weapons or high-tech gear the rebels seek. 
 
 “The stakes are really high, and we can’t risk letting this country — in the heart of the Middle East — be destroyed by vicious autocrats or hijacked by the extremists,” Kerry said following discussions among a group of Western and Arab nations that are funding, and in some cases arming, the fighters. 
 
 The United States will, for the first time, send supplies through the rebels’ central military headquarters, with U.S. advisers supervising the distribution of food rations and medical supplies, U.S. officials said. The shift is intended to give the U.S.-backed Syrian Opposition Coalition greater say over the aid, but it is also a test of the rebels’ ability to keep donated supplies out of the hands of extremists in their midst. 
 
 Washington also will send an additional $60 million to help the umbrella Syrian Opposition Coalition provide basic services such as sanitation and education in areas the rebels now control, Kerry said. That is on top of about $50 million spent on indirect help for the opposition. The goal of the new money is to counter the increasingly effective network of services provided by militants. 
 
 Kerry called President Obama’s decision to expand U.S. support “a significant stepping-up of the policy.” 
 
 Britain and other nations working in concert with the United States are expected to go further to help the rebel Free Syrian Army by providing battlefield equipment such as armored vehicles, night-vision devices or body armor. The Obama administration is weighing similar assistance, but Kerry announced only the first, small steps. 
 
 The United States is one of about a dozen nations prepared to provide broader financial and practical support for the rebels fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Kerry and other diplomats framed the new help during meetings with Syrian political opposition leaders Thursday in Rome. 
 
 Standing alongside Kerry in a joint appearance before reporters, the leader of the Syrian Opposition Coalition had no words of thanks for an offer that still represents a hedge of the U.S. bet on the group it helped to form last year. 
 
 Coalition chairman Mouaz al-Khatib angrily appealed for a humanitarian corridor to the besieged city of Homs and said the rebels are tired of Western complaints about extremists in their ranks. He argued that the real enemy is the Assad regime but said too many outsiders are worried only about “the length of a beard of a fighter.” 
 
 “No terrorists in the world have such a savage nature as those in the regime,” Khatib said in Arabic. 
 
 The Syrian opposition leader’s finger-jabbing anger was in marked contrast to Kerry’s clipped and measured tone. Kerry looked at Khatib without expression as the Syrian spoke. 
 
 Kerry said Assad is “out of time and must be out of power.” But U.S. officials acknowledged that Assad has shown little sign that he is ready to bargain with the rebels. 
 
 The rebels have captured significant territory and large caches of military weapons, but the two-year war that has killed about 70,000 people remains mostly a stalemate. 
 
 Kerry said he is confident that, combined with other nations’ new offers, the U.S. assistance will make a difference. 
 
 “The totality of this effort is going to have an impact on the ability of the Syrian opposition to accomplish its goals,” Kerry said. He promised to take other rebel requests to Washington for further discussion. 
 
 The Obama administration and its leading European allies, including Britain and France, have sought to coordinate their assistance to the rebels, and Kerry will now head to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to try to ensure that all countries providing aid are working from the same game plan. The Saudis have taken the lead in sending weapons to opposition fighters. 
 
 Like the rebels themselves, Saudi Arabia would prefer that the United States move toward a military intervention. Although U.S. officials indicated additional aid would be forthcoming, the administration is still opposed to sending weapons or using its aircraft to stop Assad’s air bombardments. Discussions are ongoing in Washington to determine how much further the administration is willing to go, including expansion of a minimal military training program. 
 
 In a tweet following the Rome meeting, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain will “be announcing new assistance.” 
 
 Britain and France have been awaiting an easing of a European Union arms embargo on Syria that will go into effect Friday. The new terms allow individual E.U. members to provide “non-lethal and technical assistance to protect Syrian civilians.” Each member country is left to decide what form its aid will take. 
 
 British and French officials have indicated that their support of the rebel forces might also include training, coordinated with allies and conducted outside Syria. 
 
 Another opposition figure, Adib Shishakly, who is in charge of coordinating humanitarian assistance for the National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, cautiously welcomed the U.S. announcement. 
 
 “We expected more, but hopefully this is a positive start,” he said, speaking from the coalition’s headquarters in Cairo. However, he added, the opposition is “absolutely disappointed” that the United States is not offering military assistance to the Free Syrian Army at a time when the Syrian government is escalating its use of force to include ballistic missiles as well as airstrikes. 
 
 “They’re not doing anything about the Scuds,” Shishakly said, referring to the Syrian military’s increasing use of Russian-designed missiles. “And if they are not going to do anything about it, at least give us the tools to protect ourselves.” 
 
 Rebels and analysts said the real significance of the aid is that a portion will go directly to the Free Syrian Army’s military councils, opening a formal channel between the U.S. government and the rebels for the first time. 
 
 The councils were formed at the prodding of U.S. officials last year in an effort to make the ad hoc rebel army more effective by giving it a more coherent structure. But the councils have had limited success in coordinating the hundreds of rebel groups that have emerged to join the fight, among them some of the increasingly powerful Islamist groups that have chosen not to join the councils. 
 
 A spokesman for the Damascus Military Council who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Qatada said he was deeply disappointed that the assistance package did not include arms. 
 
 “We thank the American government for the aid,” he said in an interview over Skype. “However, we would like to point out that we do not need food at the moment. We would rather have weapons to defend ourselves and our children.” 
 
 If the assistance is intended to increase U.S. influence over the chaotic events unfolding on the battlefield, “it will need a lot more than this,” said Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. “The trajectory of the conflict is much more dangerous than that, and these kind of Band-Aids are not going to have a major impact on the ground.” 
 
 DeYoung reported from Washington. Liz Sly and Ahmed Ramadan in Beirut and Anthony Faiola in London contributed to this report.
– The US intends to step up its "non-lethal" aid to the Syrian opposition, John Kerry announced after a meeting of the "Friends of Syria" group in Rome today. The Obama administration will ask Congress for $60 million in aid, along with food rations, and medical supplies, the BBC reports. "The US decision to take further steps now is the result of the brutality of superior armed force propped up by foreign fighters from Iran and Hezbollah," Kerry said. But the move doesn't go as far as reports yesterday indicated it might, NPR points out—there was no mention of body armor, armored vehicles, or military training, for instance. US officials say the opposition has brought up "other needs," and that it is "keeping that under review." In the meantime, Britain and other nations are likely to provide such equipment, the Washington Post reports. But despite the caution, one Syrian leader expressed optimism, Reuters reports. "We heard today a different kind of discourse," he said.