WikiLeaks has begun publishing more than two million emails from Syrian political figures, ministries and companies that have been associated with the country.

The so-called 'Syria Files' were revealed on Thursday morning. According to WikiLeaks, they show how the West and western countries "say one thing and do another" when it comes to dealing with the Assad regime. Syrian is arguably in a state of civil war at the moment, following a prolonged crackdown by the regime.

The emails date from August 2006 to March 2012. According to WikiLeaks, they derive from more than 650,000 email addresses, including those for the country's ministries of foreign affairs, finance and culture, and for foreign companies.

Some emails show how western companies sold communications technology to the Syrian security forces, WikiLeaks said by way of example.

The emails are in various languages, including Arabic and Russian. As there is a "large dataset" to go through, it could take months for all the stories contained in the emails to come out.

Much the same happened with the trove of US diplomatic cables that WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange published between 2010-11.

Assange was not at the London unveiling of the Syria Files on Thursday, as he is currently holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy , in a bid to escape extradition to Sweden over sexual assault claims. Assange claims he risks extradition to the US to face charges over the cable leaks.