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Arab League gives Syria three more days to end violence

17 November 2011 03:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Arab League extended for three more days its deadline for Syria to stop violence against civilians or face economic sanctions, APA reports citing Ria Novosti.

The announcement came after a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers ended in the Moroccan capital Rabat late on Wednesday. Syria, whose membership in the organization was suspended on Saturday, did not take part.

The previous deadline for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expired on Wednesday.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said the incumbent Syrian government was given " three days to stop the bloody repression" of its civilians, Al-Jazeera reported.

"I don’t want to speak about last chances so [Syria] doesn’t think it is being given an ultimatum, but we are almost at the end of the line," he said, adding that the time was running out.

"But if Damascus does not agree to co-operate with the League, sanctions will be adopted against Syria," Qatar’s prime minister said.

He also said the Syrian government was given three days to sign a protocol on a fact-finding mission to the country. Initially, about 30-50 observers will be dispatched.

Al-Arabiya reported that the Arab League would send its monitors to Syria within three days after Damascus signs a protocol laying legal and organizational terms for their mission. The fact-finding mission is to establish the truth behind controversial reports from the country.

The Arab League said on Monday it was ready to send 500 monitors to Syria, who would observe the situation on the ground and see that civilians’ rights are not violated by the ruling regime. The mission will include Arab rights activists, journalists and military officers.

The Arab bloc’s Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi told a news conference in Rabat the organization has just sent its proposals about the monitoring mission to the Syrian foreign minister.

He said representatives of 16 Arab human rights organizations will be sent to Syria to monitor situation in 16 areas designed by the opposition. They will report directly to Arab League headquarters.

The organization is set receive guarantees from the Syrian leadership that the observers would be allowed free movement within the country and meeting with representatives of various groups.