Dutch govt under fire for Syria opposition support

The Dutch government faced a storm of protest from lawmakers Monday after a news report said it supported a Syrian opposition group which Dutch prosecutors had labelled a "terrorist" organisation.

Parliamentarians demanded answers after the report aired by the national public broadcaster said the Netherlands gave "non-lethal assistance" (NLA) to 22 armed opposition groups battling President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

The television programme, which worked together with the respected Christian-based Trouw newspaper, identified one group as Jabhat al-Shamiya, which it said had been supplied with pick-up trucks, uniforms and other equipment last year.

But at the same time, Dutch prosecutors in the port city of Rotterdam were prosecuting a suspected jihadist for belonging to the Jabhat al-Shamiya group, which they labelled in court papers as a "salafist and jihadist movement striving for a caliphate."