Scores of Syrians in Alexandria demonstrated Sunday to protest President Bashar al-Assad's ongoing crackdown on anti-government protests in Syria. Protesters outside the Bibliotheca Alexandrina raised Syrian flags and banners saying “Free Syria” and “Syria and Egypt are One hand.” The UN estimates that the Syrian regime's crackdown has killed some 3000 people, including 187 children, since March. Syrian authorities say the death toll among army and police personnel is 1100. An Arab ministerial commission formed by the Arab League on 16 October to work on a solution for the Syrian situation will meet on Tuesday in Doha, before heading to Damascus on Wednesday morning. On Sunday evening, Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Araby said that the commission will communicate with the Syrian leadership and with the opposition inside and outside the country. These talks aim at organizing a comprehensive national conference at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo that would lead to an end to the bloodshed, and to make political reforms that meet the aspirations of the Syrian people, Araby said. The Arab League and the commission's task is not to issue warnings or threats, but rather to mobilize Arab efforts to help Syria get out of the current crisis, he added. Meanwhile, European Union President Herman Van Rompuy in Brussels warned that the EU is ready to impose more sanctions on Syria, as long as the violence and repression of the civilian population continue.
