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Arab League reviews observer mission
Arab Ministers gathered on Sunday to review the record of a widely criticised observer mission to Syria, amid growing calls for the bloc to cede to the United Nations the lead role in trying to end nearly 10 months of bloodshed, even as heavy clashes broke out before dawn on Sunday between the Syrian army and deserters, leaving 11 of its soldiers dead, human rights activists said.
The ministerial committee on Syria met in Cairo, where the Arab League has its headquarters, to be briefed by the head of the mission, General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi.
The meeting, chaired by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, will discuss the monitors’ first report which will contain “pictures, maps and information of the events witnessed by the monitors on the ground,” Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Ben Hilli said.
The report “assesses the situation on the ground in Syria and looks at the steps that can be taken in the coming phase,” he told reporters before the meeting.
A team of Arab League monitors has been in Syria since December 26, trying to assess whether President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is complying with a peace accord aimed at ending its deadly crackdown on dissent.
Critics say it has been completely outmanoeuvred by the government and has failed to make any progress towards stemming the crackdown.
They have called for the mission to pull out. Dabi, a Sudanese former military intelligence chief who is himself the focus of controversy, said it was too early to judge the mission. “This is the first time that the Arab League has carried out such a mission,” Dabi told Britain’s Observer newspaper. “But it has only just started, so I have not had enough time to form a view.”
Arab Ministers gathered on Sunday to review the record of a widely criticised observer mission to Syria, amid growing calls for the bloc to cede to the United Nations the lead role in trying to end nearly 10 months of bloodshed, even as heavy clashes broke out before dawn on Sunday between the Syrian army and deserters, leaving 11 of its soldiers dead, human rights activists said.
The ministerial committee on Syria met in Cairo, where the Arab League has its headquarters, to be briefed by the head of the mission, General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi.
The meeting, chaired by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, will discuss the monitors’ first report which will contain “pictures, maps and information of the events witnessed by the monitors on the ground,” Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Ben Hilli said.
The report “assesses the situation on the ground in Syria and looks at the steps that can be taken in the coming phase,” he told reporters before the meeting.
A team of Arab League monitors has been in Syria since December 26, trying to assess whether President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is complying with a peace accord aimed at ending its deadly crackdown on dissent.
Critics say it has been completely outmanoeuvred by the government and has failed to make any progress towards stemming the crackdown.
They have called for the mission to pull out. Dabi, a Sudanese former military intelligence chief who is himself the focus of controversy, said it was too early to judge the mission. “This is the first time that the Arab League has carried out such a mission,” Dabi told Britain’s Observer newspaper. “But it has only just started, so I have not had enough time to form a view.”
