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Arab League observers criticized for lack of progress in Syria

03 January 2012 22:02 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Arab League observer mission tasked with overseeing an end to Syria’s 10-month crackdown on peaceful protesters faced local and international criticism Tuesday amid ongoing violence across the country, APA reports quoting monstersandcritics.com website.

Syrian opposition activists contradicted reports that the military has withdrawn from Syrian cities, showing online videos Tuesday of military vehicles in Syria’s flashpoint city of Homs.

On Monday, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said that military forces had withdrawn from many cities, but added: "There is still shooting and there are snipers."

"This is the answer to Nabil al-Arabi," said the activist in the video. "From the morning, (government forces) were still shooting at residents."

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Tuesday also expressed scepticism over the observer mission’s chances of success.

"The conditions in which this observer mission is taking place warrant being clarified," Juppe said in an interview with France’s i-Tele channel.

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy separately called for the Arab observers to be given "all the means and the freedom to do their work properly."

The United Nations estimates that more than 5,000 people have been killed in the Syrian government’s clampdown upon protesters demanding the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

According to the Local Coordination Committees, a network of activists, nine people had been killed across Syria Tuesday by security forces. At least four were killed in the restive city of Homs, which, over the weeks, has witnessed intensified military operations.

Another four were killed in the central province of Hama, as the team of monitors began their visit there early Tuesday.

A delegate, who insisted on anonymity, told dpa that the team, headed by Sudanese General Mohamad Ahmad Mustafa al-Dabi, will "observe the situation, hear the testimonies of residents, and inspect a number of public places, including hospitals."

He did not, however, say whether the team would visit detention centres and prisons - one of key requests of opposition activists.

Last week, the Arab League dispatched around 60 observers to Syria, with dozens more expected to arrive in Damascus next week.

The observers are to monitor whether the government is complying with its promise to withdraw the military from cities, release hundreds of prisoners and engage in dialogue with the opposition.

The mission has struggled to gain credibility with Syria’s opposition. Activists say scores of people have been killed across the country since the observers arrived, raising questions about their effectiveness.

The Arab League committee on Syria, led by Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim, will convene Saturday in Cairo to assess reports on last week’s visits of Arab monitors to five restive provinces across Syria, an official at the organization said Tuesday.

The official added that al-Dabi will return from Damascus to participate in the meeting.

Meanwhile, 18 security personnel were killed Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Fighting erupted at dawn when dozens of army personnel decided to desert the military in the southern province of Daraa. They were attacked by government security from a police station and the defectors shot back at them. The bodies were taken to a government hospital, the report said.