This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-16330810
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Syria unrest: More Arab League observers due to arrive | Syria unrest: More Arab League observers due to arrive |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| More Arab League observers are due to arrive in Syria as part of a deal with Damascus to try to end months of violence gripping the country. | More Arab League observers are due to arrive in Syria as part of a deal with Damascus to try to end months of violence gripping the country. |
| The main opposition group urged them to go immediately to the central city of Homs, which is reportedly besieged by government forces. | The main opposition group urged them to go immediately to the central city of Homs, which is reportedly besieged by government forces. |
| A number of people have been killed in the town by mortar shelling and machinegun fire, activists say. | A number of people have been killed in the town by mortar shelling and machinegun fire, activists say. |
| Damascus says it is fighting armed gangs intent on destabilising Syria. | Damascus says it is fighting armed gangs intent on destabilising Syria. |
| More than 5,000 people have been killed across the country since protests against the government of President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March, the UN says. | More than 5,000 people have been killed across the country since protests against the government of President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March, the UN says. |
| Such claims are hard to verify as most foreign media are banned from reporting in Syria. | Such claims are hard to verify as most foreign media are banned from reporting in Syria. |
| SNC demand | SNC demand |
| The mission is getting under way in earnest now. Syria has said it is responsible for the security of the Arab observers, so it remains to be seen how free their access to trouble spots will be. | |
| The head of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi, has said it will take about a week to judge whether Syria really is complying with the agreement it signed, under which the observers are to monitor a complete halt to the violence, the withdrawal of armed forces, and the release of all detainees, of whom there are many thousands. | |
| In advance of the observers' arrival, activists accused the authorities of moving detainees onto military bases - where the observers are not allowed to go - and also of removing hundreds of bodies of killed protesters from the morgue at Homs. | |
| About 50 Arab League monitors are expected to arrive within the next few hours - several days after a nine-member advance team landed in Damascus. | About 50 Arab League monitors are expected to arrive within the next few hours - several days after a nine-member advance team landed in Damascus. |
| They will split up into smaller groups and, according to the agreement, should be free to go wherever they want to see what is happening. | |
| The observer mission will eventually have up to 200 members, and it plans to meet both government officials and the opposition. | The observer mission will eventually have up to 200 members, and it plans to meet both government officials and the opposition. |
| On Sunday, the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) urged monitors to go to Homs without delay. | |
| "Since early this morning, the [Homs] neighbourhood of Baba Amr has been under a tight siege and the threat of military invasion by an estimated 4,000 soldiers," said the SNC, the main umbrella group of Assad opponents. | "Since early this morning, the [Homs] neighbourhood of Baba Amr has been under a tight siege and the threat of military invasion by an estimated 4,000 soldiers," said the SNC, the main umbrella group of Assad opponents. |
| The SNC said it "demands that the Arab League observers go to Homs immediately, specifically to the besieged neighbourhoods, to fulfil their stated mission". | The SNC said it "demands that the Arab League observers go to Homs immediately, specifically to the besieged neighbourhoods, to fulfil their stated mission". |
| The group said the government troops had killed an unknown number of people in the city and injured more than 120 others. | The group said the government troops had killed an unknown number of people in the city and injured more than 120 others. |
| Also on Sunday, human rights and opposition activists said troops had killed at least 10 people, including five in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour. | |
| Two days earlier, two suicide car bombings in Damascus killed 44 people and left more than 150 injured, Syrian officials said. They blamed al-Qaeda, but the opposition suggested security forces were behind the blasts. | Two days earlier, two suicide car bombings in Damascus killed 44 people and left more than 150 injured, Syrian officials said. They blamed al-Qaeda, but the opposition suggested security forces were behind the blasts. |
| With a solid security presence, Damascus had largely escaped the violence and protests that have flared in central and northern provinces, although there have been protests in suburbs. | |
| Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has said he expects the monitors to back the government's claim that armed gangs were behind the continuing violence. | Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has said he expects the monitors to back the government's claim that armed gangs were behind the continuing violence. |