Syrian tanks have pulled out of cities, says Arab League

ARAB LEAGUE secretary general Nabil al-Arabi said yesterday that the Syrian army had withdrawn heavy weapons and troops to the outskirts of cities although snipers continued to operate from rooftops in residential districts.

“Yes, there is still shooting and, yes, there are still snipers . . . killings continue.”

Mr Arabi pledged to take up the issue with the Syrian government but said: “It is difficult to say who is firing on whom . . . The objective is for us to wake up in the morning and hear that no one is killed. The mission’s [task] is to protect civilians, so if one in killed, our mission is incomplete . . . There must be a complete ceasefire.” He also said food supplies had reached residents of restive areas and the bodies of the dead had been recovered.

After almost 10 months of violence, in which the United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been killed, the Arab League monitoring mission has spent the past week assessing Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s compliance with a peace plan.

The head of the monitoring mission, Sudanese general Mustafa Dabi is set to submit his first report in two days, Mr Arabi said, dismissing criticism of the choice of the general. “He is a capable military man with a clean reputation.”

The general was head of Sudan’s military intelligence during a period of repression. New teams of monitors are due to arrive in Syria on Thursday to reinforce the 66 already deployed.

Mr Arabi asked the opposition and Syrian citizens to give the monitors the names of relatives and friends imprisoned by the regime because the league does not have a list of dissidents detained since the revolt began in mid-March.

It has also been unable to verify the government’s announcement that 3,484 prisoners had been freed. “We call for the release of all,” Mr Arabi said.

In the northern province of Idlib, defectors captured troops manning two checkpoints and clashed with others at a third, killing and wounding an unspecified number, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

If correct, these attacks constitute a violation of the league plan, which calls for a halt to violence by all parties, withdrawal of the military from urban areas, and the release of prisoners.

The observatory also said at least three civilians had been killed, while the official news agency Sana reported pro-government demonstrations in Deir al-Zor and Homs provinces.

A pro-regime website said President Assad plans to form a new government, including opposition figures and independent politicians.