Cairo (dpa) – An Arab advisory agency Sunday called on the Arab League to “immediately” recall its observer mission from Syria over the government's continued crackdown on dissent. “The Syrian regime continues to kill the innocent Syrian citizens and violates the Arab League protocol on protecting the civilians,” Speaker of the Arab Parliament Salem al-Diqbassi said in a statement Sunday. “This being pursued in the presence of the Arab League observers is a matter that has angered the Arab people and negates the aim of sending them there,” he added in a statement. The 88-member Arab Parliament is n advisory committee that operates separately from the Arab League. Earlier this week, the League dispatched around 60 observers to Syria check if the government is complying with a plan to end 10 months of deadly violence. An advance team of observers, led by the organization's assistant head Saif al-Yazal, returned to Cairo Sunday evening after touring some hotspots in Syria, leaving behind other colleagues. “The Arab League will issue a statement on any new developments,” al-Yazal, said tersely as he left Cairo airport. More than 40 other observers are to head to Syria next week amid protests from the Syrian opposition that the mission is doing little to halt the government's crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. At least 10 civilians, including a seven-year-old child, were killed Sunday by Syrian government forces in the restive provinces of Hama and Homs, said the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), a network of opposition activists. Syrians took to the streets on Sunday in several parts of the country to express hope that 2012 would be their “year of freedom,” reported opposition activists. At a mass protest in Homs, demonstrators chanted slogans against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, the LCC said. A similar protest was held in the district of Al Bayada in Homs, where demonstrators wearing Santa Claus outfits chanted slogans against al-Assad, activists said. The LCC said it has documented the killing of 6,000 people in Syria since the anti-government uprising began in mid-March. The figure includes 395 children and 150 women, according to the network. By United Nations estimates, more than 5,000 people have been killed in the Syrian government's clampdown against pro-democracy protesters. It is hard to verify reports from Syria as the authorities have barred most foreign media and human rights groups from the country since the protests began. Meanwhile, military forces clashed with army deserters near the capital Damascus, according to the opposition. The fighting in the town of Reef Damascus reportedly erupted as the government forces were hunting for suspected defectors. Mass protests were also held in Reef Damascus where the anti-government demonstrators wished al-Assad “a bleak New Year,” the activists said. Meanwhile, cracks have appeared among Syrian dissidents after two leading opposition groups signed a deal outlining a transitional period after the end of al-Assad's regime. The agreement was signed late Friday by the Syrian National Council, an umbrella grouping of many opposition factions in exile, and the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria, which comprises leftist and Kurdish politicians based in Syria. The deal rejects foreign military intervention in Syria and promises the creation of a civil multi-party parliamentary system. It also envisages a one-year transitional period starting with an interim government taking over in Syria until a new constitution is approved. “It is a superficial agreement that does not have many details,” Syrian opposition activist, Bahia Mardeeni, told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahrm on Sunday. “The signatories want to share the cake through an interim government in the post-al-Assad period,” she added. Other opposition politicians have criticized the document for failing to declare unqualified support for the dissident Syrian Free Army. The controversial deal, whose signatories said it was a draft document, is to be presented to a conference of opposition groups to be held under the Arab League auspices this month. No exact date for the gathering has been set. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/L2eF9 Tags: Arab League, Assad, featured, Observers Section: Latest News, Syria
