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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Syrian killings annoy Arab League | |
| 2012-01-03 | |
Nabil Elaraby said pro-regime snipers also continue to operate in Syria and he demanded a complete cease-fire. But despite the regime's ongoing crackdown, he listed the achievements of the Arab League monitors since they began work. The monitors are supposed to verify Syria's compliance with an Arab League plan to stop the nine-month-old crackdown on dissent. President Bashar Assad agreed to the plan on Dec. 19. But since the Arab League monitors began work last Tuesday, activists say government forces have killed more than 150 people, the vast majority of them unarmed, peaceful protesters. "Yes, there is still shooting and yes there are still snipers," Elaraby told a news conference in Cairo, where the Arab League is based. "Yes, killings continue. The objective is for us to wake up in the morning and hear that no one is killed. The mission's philosophy is to protect civilians, so if one is killed, then our mission is incomplete." "There must be a complete cease-fire," Elaraby said. But he also said tanks and artillery have been pulled out from cities and residential neighborhood, food supplies reached residents and bodies of dead protesters recovered. Rami Abdelrahman, who heads the British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, confirmed that tanks had withdrawn from Syrian cities. But he said residents reported that the weapons were still a threat. "They can bring the tanks back and use them to fight," Abdelrahman told The Associated Press. Elaraby did not say when the heavy weapons pulled out of cities, but Abdelrahman said it was on Thursday. The Arab League plan requires Assad's regime to remove security forces and heavy weapons from city streets, start talks with opposition leaders, free political prisoners and allow human rights workers and journalists into the country. Already, Syrian opposition groups and a pan-Arab group, the Arab Parliament, have been deeply critical of the mission, saying it is simply giving Assad cover for his crackdown. Suggesting that the League did not have a figure for the number of Syrians detained since the uprising began, Elaraby called on the opposition and ordinary Syrians to aid the observers by sending them names of relatives or friends they think are detained by Assad's regime. He did not say whether the League was able to verify the release of 3,484 prisoners or when they left prison. The Observatory meanwhile said armed rebels captured dozens of members of the security forces by seizing two military checkpoints in the northern province of Idlib on Monday. It said the army deserters also clashed with security forces at a third checkpoint, killing and wounding an unspecified number of troops loyal to Assad. Abdelrahman said Monday's operation took place in the Jabal Al-Zawiyah region of Idlib. It was not immediately clear how many people had been killed or captured by the rebels, he said. The reported attack came three days after the anti-government Free Syrian Army said it had ordered its fighters to stop offensive operations pending a meeting with Arab League monitors. Syrian authorities say armed groups have killed 2,000 security forces personnel during the uprising. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Bet they're not half as annoyed as the dead guys.... |
| Posted by: Barbara 2012-01-03 18:58 |