Financial Times: Qatar has spent as much as $3bn to support Syrian rebels

The Financial Times reported that Qatar has spent as much as $3 billion over the past two years supporting the rebellion in Syria, "far exceeding any other government, but is now being nudged aside by Saudi Arabia as the prime source of arms to rebels".

"The small state with a gargantuan appetite is the biggest donor to the political opposition, providing generous refugee packages to defectors (one estimate puts it at $50,000 a year for a defector and his family) and has provided vast amounts of humanitarian support", the newspaper said.

In September, many rebels in Syria's Aleppo province received a one-off payment of $150 courtesy of Qatar. Sources close to the Qatari government say total spending has reached as much as $3bn, while rebel and diplomatic sources put the figure at $1bn at most.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks arms transfers, Qatar has sent the most weapons deliveries to Syria, with more than 70 military cargo flights into neighbouring Turkey between April 2012 and March this year.