The Arab Parliament has called for the immediate withdrawal of the Arab League’s monitoring mission in Syria due to its inefficient activities, al Arabiya television reported.
The 88-member advisory committee said on Sunday that despite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s promise to end a crackdown on a nine-month uprising against his rule the violence was continuing to claim many victims in the country.
“For this to happen in the presence of Arab monitors has roused the anger of Arab people and negates the purpose of sending a fact-finding mission,” al Arabiya quoted the Arab parliament’s chairman Ali al-Salem al-Dekbas as saying.
“This is giving the Syrian regime an Arab cover for continuing its inhumane actions under the eyes and ears of the Arab League,” he said.
A group of 50 Arab League monitors arrived in Syria in late December on a month-long mission to implement a plan calling for the withdrawal of the military from towns and residential districts, a halt to violence against civilians and the release of detainees.
The Syrian opposition has called the Arab League’s mission “a farce” after Sudanese Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, who heads the mission, said that the situation in Syria was calm and reassuring.
According to UN data, President Assad's crackdown on the protests, inspired by uprisings across the Arab world this year, has killed more than 5,000 people. Syrian authorities blame armed gangs for the violence and say 1,100 soldiers and police have been killed.
