Arab League Calls for Additional Monitors in Syria

In Cairo, the Arab League foreign ministers have agreed to increase the number of monitors in Syria. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim al-Thani, also head of the ministerial committee of the Arab League, has called Syria to stop violence on anti-government protesters and expressed doubt about the role of the observation mission if the violence was ongoing. Syria’s representative at the League reacted by accusing Sheikh al-Thani of being biased and stated that the majority of Syrians were against international interference in the country.

In addition, international human rights groups and the local opposition expressed concerns about a lack of experiences from the monitors and the capacity of the Syrian army to manipulate them. League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby announced that the League would coordinate with the UN to strengthen technical capacity for the mission including training to the monitors. Members of the Syrian National Council also expressed doubts about the mission to protect civilians and has called the UN Security Council to step in to protect them. However, the issue of calling for a foreign intervention raised debates within the opposition.