Arab League monitors in Syria criticised
  • 12 years ago
WARNING- THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT
Syrian protesters confront Arab League peace monitors in Homs with the body of a dead child.
They say the boy was killed by Syrian government forces.
Activists posted several video clips on YouTube of what appear to show a visit by League observers in the flashpoint city of Homs.
The Arab League mission got off to a rocky start on Wednesday when observers were rejected by some Homs residents after showing up with an army escort.
The Sudanese leader of the mission also caused controversy when he said he had seen "nothing frightening" in Homs.
French human rights group, Reporters without Borders, accused the Syrian authorities of making a mockery of the visit.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) HEAD OF MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA OPERATIONS FOR REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS SOAZIG DOLLET, SAYING:
"It's a farce, the Syrian regime making a mockery of respecting the Arab League agreement by accepting the presence of observers, but emptying prisons -- as a Human Rights Watch report clearly showed yesterday -- some prisons in Homs were emptied and detainees transferred to other places."
The Arab mission is the first significant international involvement in Syria's conflict since the uprising against President Bashar Al Assad began in March.
Sunita Rappai, Reuters