Arab League Observers Powerless to Stop Violence in Syria
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KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — The presence of Arab League observers has apparently done little to stop the Syrian government’s violent crackdown against dissidents.
President Bashar al-Assad had agreed to remove troops and tanks from cities where most of the violence has occurred over the past nine months, but human rights groups contend the slaughter of pro-democracy protesters and deserters has gone on anyway.
Activists claim that at least 39 people died over the past two days and have faulted the Arab League for believing that al-Assad has made significant steps in ending the crackdown that began last March.
Ausama Monajed, a member of the Syrian National Council, the main opposition group, complained Wednesday that the Arab League “mission has absolutely no mandate, no authority, no teeth. The regime does not feel obliged to even bring down the number of casualties a day.”
In one positive move, the government released nearly 800 prisoners Wednesday. However, there was little sign that the government will abide by the other conditions al-Assad had agreed to, including beginning talks with opposition leaders and permitting human rights workers and journalists into Syria to get a first-hand look at the carnage.
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