US Republican Senator John McCain has once again urged the White House to arm Syrian rebels after a ceasefire went into effect in Syria in order to end more than one year of turmoil in the country.

“Over there (in Syria), they’re waiting for American leadership. We have announced that we are now providing them with non-lethal equipment -- that doesn’t do very well against tanks and artillery,” said McCain who has recently returned from a trip to Turkey where he met with members of the anti-government group of Free Syrian Army Press TV reported.

“We need to get a sanctuary for the Free Syrian Army, we need to get them supplies, we need to get them weapons. And there are many ways to get weapons to them. We showed that in Libya, we showed that in Afghanistan,” he added.

This is not the first time the American senator has called for providing Syrian rebels with weapons.

On February 23, McCain said the US "should consider every option ranging from sanctuaries to seeing that weapons are brought to the hands of those who are resisting [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad."

On April 13, US President Barack Obama approved providing Syrian rebels with non-lethal aid, including communications equipment and medicines.

McCain's remarks come while a ceasefire, which is part of a six-point plan proposed by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, went into effect as of April 12.