Nearly 50 people were killed in Syria today, an activist group said, two days before Arab League officials were due to arrive to prepare for a monitoring mission assessing Syrian compliance with a plan to stem the bloodshed.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 23 people were killed in fighting with president Bashar al-Assad's forces in the northern province of Idlib and 14 members of his security forces died in a rebel ambush in the south. The overall death toll was at least 47, it said.
Idlib, on Syria's northern border with Turkey, has seen fierce fighting recently. The Observatory reported that security forces machine-gunned soldiers deserting their army base there yesterday, killing more than 60, and said rebels had damaged or destroyed 17 military vehicles since Sunday.
The state news agency Sana said security forces killed five "terrorists" in Deraa province last night. It also said Mr Assad had decreed the death penalty for anyone caught distributing arms "with the aim of committing terrorist acts".
Arab League secretary-general Nabil Elaraby said today that an advance team would go to Syria on Thursday, with the 150 monitors due to arrive by end-December.
"It's a completely new mission ... and it depends on implementation in good faith," he said.
Syria stalled for weeks before signing a protocol yesterday to accept the monitors who will check its compliance with an Arab plan for an end to violence, withdrawal of troops from the streets, release of prisoners and dialogue with the opposition.
"In a week's time, from the start of the operation, we will know (if Syria is complying)," Mr Elaraby said.
Syrian pro-democracy activists are deeply sceptical about Mr Assad's commitment to the plan, which, if implemented, could embolden demonstrators demanding an end to his 11-year rule.
In recent months, peaceful protests have increasingly given way to armed confrontations often led by army deserters.
Some opposition leaders have called for foreign military intervention to protect civilians from Mr Assad's forces.
In a show of military power, state television said today the air force and navy both held live-fire exercises aimed at deterring any attack on Syria by land or sea.
The Syrian authorities have made it hard for anyone to know what is going on in their troubled country. They have barred most foreign journalists and imposed tight curbs on local ones.
The British-based Observatory said three more people had been killed in violence today, two in the city of Homs and one in a village in Idlib province, the scene of a sustained military crackdown in the past three days.
Sana said a captain in the security forces had died of wounds inflicted by "terrorists" a week ago in the city of Hama.
The United Nations has said more than 5,000 people have been killed in Syria since anti-Assad protests erupted in March, inspired by a wave of uprisings across the Arab world.
Several weeks ago Damascus said 1,100 members of the security forces had been killed by "armed terrorist gangs". An armed insurrection against Mr Assad has gathered pace since then.
Syria agreed to the Arab peace plan in early November, but the violence raged on, prompting Arab states to announce financial sanctions and travel bans on Syrian officials.
The United States and European Union have already imposed sanctions on Syria, which combined with the unrest itself have pushed the economy into a sharp fall.
Mr Elaraby said the Arab sanctions would remain until monitors begin reporting back. Arab ministers would decide the next step.
He said Gulf states would contribute about 60 of a 150-strong monitoring team led by a Sudanese general, which would expect freedom of movement and communication, including access to prisons and hospitals. Journalists would accompany the team.
The Arab League had threatened to ask the UN Security Council to adopt its peace plan for Syria, broadening the chances of international action.
Arab rulers want to halt a slide towards a possible civil war in Syria that could shake a region already riven by rivalry between non-Arab Shia power Iran and Sunni Arab heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore this evening condemned the ongoing violence and serious repression of human rights in Syria.
“The level of atrocity committed in Syria over the past nine months has been truly appalling,” he said.
“The Assad regime must make way for a genuine political transition which will enable the democratic aspirations of the Syrian people to be finally fulfilled. I strongly support the efforts of the Arab League to bring about an end to the violence and I welcome the fact that Arab League monitors will now be allowed to enter Syria in the coming days,” he added.
Reuters