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    January 19, 2012

Arab League Monitors to Prepare Report on Syria

   VOA News
   Members of the Arab League hold a meeting on Syria in Cairo, Egypt,
   January 8, 2012. Photo: AP
   Members of the Arab League hold a meeting on Syria in Cairo, Egypt,
   January 8, 2012.

   Arab League monitors are preparing to report on the situation in Syria,
   after a one-month mission to observe the government's efforts to
   implement a plan aimed at stopping its bloody crackdown on a 10-month
   uprising.
   The mandate for the monitor mission expires Thursday, and Arab League
   foreign ministers are scheduled to meet Sunday to review the observers'
   final report and decide what to do next.
   An Arab League monitor told VOA he expects the mission will be
   extended, because withdrawing the monitors would create an unwanted
   vacuum. He said their presence at least "keeps the status quo."
   Syrian rights groups have criticized the mission's effectiveness. They
   say President Bashar al-Assad has deceived the monitors and escalated
   deadly attacks since the observers arrived on December 26.
   Qatar's ruling emir has called for Arab troops to be deployed in Syria
   to stop Mr. Assad's deadly crackdown on protesters who want an end to
   his 11-year autocratic rule. Syria has rejected the idea.
   Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday any plans to send
   foreign troops to Syria will not be approved in the U.N. Security
   Council, where Moscow holds a veto. Russia is a key military ally of
   Syria.
   On the ground in Syria, opposition activists said Thursday government
   troops have pulled back from the besieged rebel-held town of Zabadani,
   near the Lebanese border. Syrian tanks and armored vehicles had
   surrounded the town for days and engaged in days of fighting with army
   defectors.
   An Arab League monitor told VOA he was optimistic about the ceasefire
   in Zabadani, saying it was the first positive step he had seen.
   Zabadani has been a frequent site of opposition protests since the
   start of a 10-month-old uprising against Mr. Assad's rule. Army
   defectors who have joined the uprising in recent months have fought
   pro-government troops but have not managed to hold territory for a
   prolonged period.
   European Union foreign ministers are due to meet Monday in Brussels to
   discuss a new round of asset freezes and travel bans on Syrian
   individuals and companies. British Prime Minister David Cameron said
   Wednesday that London will lead the way in tightening EU sanctions
   against the Syrian president, whom he called a "wretched tyrant."
   Cameron also said there is "growing evidence" that Iran and the
   Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah are providing material
   support to the Assad government. Iran and Hezbollah have denied the
   accusations.
   The United Nations says violence linked to the uprising has killed more
   than 5,400 people. Syria says "terrorists" have killed about 2,000
   members of the security forces since the unrest began.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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