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| Syria: 50 Arab monitors arrive as bloodshed continues | Syria: 50 Arab monitors arrive as bloodshed continues |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A group of 50 Arab League observers has flown into Syria as part of a regional plan to end fighting which the UN says has left more than 5,000 people dead. | A group of 50 Arab League observers has flown into Syria as part of a regional plan to end fighting which the UN says has left more than 5,000 people dead. |
| Ahead of their arrival, gunfire and shelling in and around the volatile city of Homs claimed 30 lives, activists said. | Ahead of their arrival, gunfire and shelling in and around the volatile city of Homs claimed 30 lives, activists said. |
| An opposition group said some of the observers have reached Homs, but had found their movements restricted. | An opposition group said some of the observers have reached Homs, but had found their movements restricted. |
| The protests against President Bashar al-Assad began in March. | The protests against President Bashar al-Assad began in March. |
| The government says it is fighting armed gangs. Casualty figures are hard to verify as most foreign media are banned from reporting in Syria. | |
| The latest bloodshed is reported to have taken place largely in the Baba Amr district of Homs. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that area alone saw 18 deaths on Monday. | The latest bloodshed is reported to have taken place largely in the Baba Amr district of Homs. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that area alone saw 18 deaths on Monday. |
| Another 11 were killed elsewhere in the city and a woman in nearby Talbisseh, said the Observatory. | Another 11 were killed elsewhere in the city and a woman in nearby Talbisseh, said the Observatory. |
| A number of people have been killed in the city by mortar shelling and machine gun fire over the last few days, activists say. | A number of people have been killed in the city by mortar shelling and machine gun fire over the last few days, activists say. |
| One resident of Homs told the BBC in a telephone call that the city was surrounded by government forces and many buildings had been destroyed. | |
| "Some of us are trying to reach the destroyed buildings to search for survivors. In the middle of the day we can't reach them because there are snipers all around," he said. | "Some of us are trying to reach the destroyed buildings to search for survivors. In the middle of the day we can't reach them because there are snipers all around," he said. |
| "They are going to kill all of us, all the civilian people here in Baba Amr." | "They are going to kill all of us, all the civilian people here in Baba Amr." |
| Graphic footage purporting to show the aftermath of heavy shelling in Baba Amr has been posted on the internet. | Graphic footage purporting to show the aftermath of heavy shelling in Baba Amr has been posted on the internet. |
| 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 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. | 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. | 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. |
| It shows the bleeding corpses of four young men and a woman screaming for help from the international community. | |
| Large numbers of army deserters are reported to have joined armed rebels in the Free Syrian Army in recent weeks to launch attacks on pro-government troops. | |
| "The violence is definitely two-sided," one Homs resident told Reuters. "I've been seeing ambulances filled with wounded soldiers passing by my window in the past days. They're getting shot somehow." | |
| Freedom of movement | Freedom of movement |
| News agencies reported that 50 monitors and 10 officials from the Arab League secretariat had flown in from Cairo - several days after a nine-member advance team arrived in Damascus. | News agencies reported that 50 monitors and 10 officials from the Arab League secretariat had flown in from Cairo - several days after a nine-member advance team arrived in Damascus. |
| Their mission is to assess an Arab League initiative agreed with the Syrian government requiring all armed forces to withdraw from areas of conflict. | Their mission is to assess an Arab League initiative agreed with the Syrian government requiring all armed forces to withdraw from areas of conflict. |
| Damascus has pledged to allow the monitors full freedom of movement, but they will depend on the regime to provide security. | Damascus has pledged to allow the monitors full freedom of movement, but they will depend on the regime to provide security. |
| The leader of the Syrian National Council (SNC), the main umbrella group of Assad opponents, said some of the observers had arrived in Homs, but had so far been unable to travel freely. | The leader of the Syrian National Council (SNC), the main umbrella group of Assad opponents, said some of the observers had arrived in Homs, but had so far been unable to travel freely. |
| Burhan Ghalioun, who is based in Paris, said the observers were "being held prisoners by the Syrian system". | Burhan Ghalioun, who is based in Paris, said the observers were "being held prisoners by the Syrian system". |
| However one of the advance party, head of mission General Mustafa Dabi of Sudan, earlier told Reuters news agency: "Our Syrian brothers are co-operating very well and without any restrictions so far." | However one of the advance party, head of mission General Mustafa Dabi of Sudan, earlier told Reuters news agency: "Our Syrian brothers are co-operating very well and without any restrictions so far." |
| The BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says Homs may well prove to be a test case for the observer mission in terms of ascertaining whether they truly have unrestricted access and whether there is any peace for them to monitor. | The BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says Homs may well prove to be a test case for the observer mission in terms of ascertaining whether they truly have unrestricted access and whether there is any peace for them to monitor. |
| Graphic footage | Graphic footage |
| 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 Friday, 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. | On Friday, 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. | 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. |
| Are you in Syria? Did you witness the gunfire and shelling? Send us your account of what happened using the form below. | Are you in Syria? Did you witness the gunfire and shelling? Send us your account of what happened using the form below. |
| Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here. | Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here. |
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