Scores Killed as Observers Prepare to Enter Syria

Clashes between Syrian loyalist troops and army deserters killed or wounded at least 100 defected soldiers, many of whom were killed as they attempted to defect, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. ”After clashes that broke out this morning with the regular army, 100 deserters were besieged then killed or wounded between the villages of Kafruwed and Al-Fatira,” the group said. The reports came from several militants in the field, who said the clashes took place in the north-west Idlib province. Syria’s state-run news agency also reported that President Bashar al-Assad has issued a new law allowing for a death sentence for anyone found to be distributing arms to domestic “terrorists.”

Meanwhile, an Arab League official said an advance team will arrive in Syria this week to prepare for an observer mission as a possible step toward solving the crisis. The team, led by the Arab League’s assistant secretary-general Sameer Seif el-Yazal, will travel to Syria Thursday. The full team of monitors is expected to be in place within two weeks. Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby stated, ”I can say with some assurance but not certainty that before the end of next week [the monitors] will all be there,” adding it was the first such mission since the League was set up in 1945. US State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland reacted to the news of the monitors, saying “From a U.S. perspective, we’ve seen too many broken promises from the Syrian regime, so we’re really less interested in a signed piece of paper than we are in actions to implement commitments made.”