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11 killed as Syria OKs observers ’in principle’

18 November 2011 18:05 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Syria has agreed "in principle" to allow an observer mission into the country, a senior official in Damascus said Friday, as security forces killed 11 anti-government protesters and France called for tough U.N. Security Council action, APA reports quoting Associated Press.

The Arab League formally suspended Damascus this week over its crackdown on an 8-month-old uprising, which the U.N. estimates has killed more than 3,500 people. The group wants to send dozens of observers to the country to try to help end the bloodshed.

"Syria has agreed in principle to the Arab League proposal (for observers) and we are still studying the details," the senior Syrian official said Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue is so sensitive.

Syrian opposition members said Syria’s stance was just a stalling tactic.

"We have warned in the past and we warn again that these are the methods of the regime to waste time," said Omar Idilbi, a Beirut-based member of the Syrian National Council, an umbrella group of regime opponents. "This is an attempt by the regime to gain more time."

Syrian activists said at least 11 people were killed as security forces on Friday fired on anti-government protests. Friday has become the main day for protests in Syria as thousands of people stream out of mosques following afternoon prayers.

Nabil Elaraby, the head of the Arab League, said in a statement Friday that he received "amendments" from Damascus, which the League is studying.

Ibrahim el-Zaafarani, a member of the Arab Medical Union who is expected to be part of the observer team for Syria, said the mission will include doctors, activists, lawyers and military experts.

"Our presence there will be protection for civilians," el-Zaafarani told The Associated Press by telephone from Cairo, where the Arab League has its headquarters.

The League originally had suggested a team of 500 people, but the number dropped to 40. He said he was not clear on why or on whose behest the number was reduced.

President Bashar Assad is facing mounting pressure from home and abroad over the country’s crisis, which appears to be spiraling out of control as attacks by army defectors increase and some protesters take up arms to protect themselves. The escalating violence has raised fears of civil war.

"We call on the Syrian opposition to avoid recourse to an armed insurrection," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara, Turkey. "A civil war would of course be a true catastrophe."

Asked about the possibility of foreign intervention, Juppe said: "This would have to be within the framework of the U.N. Security Council."

He also called on the Security Council to act against Assad’s regime, saying the time has come to strengthen sanctions against Syria.

"We must continue to exert pressure," Juppe said. "The U.N. must act."

But longtime Syrian ally Russia urged caution. In October, Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that threatened sanctions against Syria.

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday urged the U.N. Security Council to be restrained in drafting a resolution condemning the violent crackdown on dissent.

"We are ready to work with the international community, but we urge restraint and cautiousness," Putin told Russian news agencies when asked whether Russia is going to support a U.N. resolution.

However, Putin added that Russia is not going to "ignore opinions of our partners and will cooperate with everyone."