THE ARAB LEAGUE is expected to meet tomorrow to discuss imposing a range of economic sanctions against Syria following the expiration of today’s deadline for Assad’s government to sign up to an observer protocol.
Syria had last week agreed “in principle” to allowing an observer mission into the country.
However, the Arab League yesterday warned that it was setting a Friday afternoon deadline by which Syria must sign a protocol allowing the human rights mission into the country.
The economic sanctions could include cutting off flights to Syria, or suspending transactions with Syria’s central bank.
One senior diplomat from a League member state said that the group would still accept an agreement from Syria by the end of the day, but Syria has given no clear indication of signing.
The UN says that 3,500 people are believed to have died in the violent crackdown on political protests which began in mid-March. Activists today claimed that 11 people were killed by security forces, while the military says that ten of its personnel including four elite pilots were killed in an ambush in Homs.
Reports of violence and deaths are impossible to completely verify as Syria has banned foreign journalists from the country and is restricting the movement of Syrian reporters.
Syrian state news agency SANA reports today that thousands of people have turned out to support the regime and protest against the Arab League threat. SANA also reported that the Arab League had become a tool for foreign interference and was serving Western interests in stirring up trouble in the region.
- Additional reporting by the Associated Press
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