The Arab League was to consider a proposal Sunday
to revive its suspended observer mission in Syria by expanding it to
include monitors from non-Arab, Muslim nations and the United Nations,
officials from the 22-member group said.
The proposal was to be discussed in a meeting in Cairo by a
"Syria Group" made up of seven member states led by Qatar, according to
the officials. The group would make recommendations to an Arab League
foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for later Sunday in the Egyptian
capital.
Last month, the League pulled out its observer mission to Syria
after it came under heavy criticism for failing to stop the bloodshed
engulfing the country. The Syrians would be unlikely to accept a new
observer team.
President Bashar Assad's regime has pursued a harsh crackdown
against the uprising since it began 11 months ago. The UN estimates
that 5,400 people have been killed since March, but that figure is from
January, when the world body stopped counting because the chaos in Syria
has made it all but impossible to check the figures. Hundreds are
reported to have been killed since.
The League officials, speaking on condition of anonymity
because the proposals had not yet been adopted, said the Syria Group
would also call on Syrian opposition groups to close ranks and unite
under one umbrella, a move that they said would place more pressure on
the Assad regime.
The Syria Group meeting would be preceded by talks in Cairo by
the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional
grouping that brings together Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab
Emirates, Oman and Bahrain. The six nations, particularly Saudi Arabia
and Qatar, have been campaigning for a tougher stand against Assad's
regime and may in their Cairo meeting offer formal recognition of
Syria's National Syrian Council, the largest of Syria's opposition
groups.
Syria's turmoil began with peaceful protests against Assad's
rule, sparking the fierce regime crackdown. But the revolt has grown
increasingly militarized as army defectors and armed protesters have
taken up arms against the government.
Russia and China last weekend vetoed a Western and Arab
resolution at the UN that would have pressured Assad to step down. The
draft resolution demands that Assad halt the crackdown and implement an
Arab League peace plan that calls for him to hand over power to his
vice president and allow creation of a unity government to clear the way
for elections.
The veto prompted Western and Arab countries to consider
forming a coalition to help Syria's opposition, though so far there is
no sign they intend to give direct aid to the Free Syrian Army.
Damascus allowed in Arab League observers in December, but the
mission was halted amid the accelerating bloodshed. The Syrians would be
unlikely to accept a new observer team. (nvn)
