Syrian ‘civil war’ as Arab League observers tour Homs
As Arab League monitors complete the first day of their tour of Homs, a Syria blogger tells Channel 4 News “all sides are trying to make political capital” as civil war unfolds.
A group of Arab League observers have finished their first day of observation and will continue touring the area over the next 24 hours.
They are assessing whether Syria has halted its nine-month crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad.
During the visit at least 11 tanks withdrew from the perimeter of the troubled district of Baba Amr, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed.
“Many tanks remain inside the neighbourhood, the army is hiding them inside government buildings. They also hid one inside an event hall,” Rami Abdelrahman said.
It seems hard to believe they’ll just stumble across a smoking gun. Sakhr Al-Makhadhi
Syria blogger Sakhr Al-Makhadhi told Channel 4 News “all sides are trying to make political capital” out of the observers’ presence in Syria.
He said: “Activists claimed that one member of the team had been shot, the Arab League had to deny that.
“Then they were accused of dithering and pandering to the regime by hanging around in Damascus. The Arab League was forced to make a statement that they would give the government limited notice of their plans.
“But the truth is that the observers’ trip up north has been so widely trailed that it seems hard to believe they’ll just stumble across a smoking gun.
“The tragedy is that in addition to the ongoing bombardment of residential areas (which the monitors probably won’t see), Homs is also the epicentre of a growing civil conflict. And that’s something they’re not even tasked with reporting on.”
More from Channel 4 News: Inside Syria
Untangling Syria's messy civil war
The Arab League observers have only been in Syria since late on Monday and already they've made good on their promise to try and move around freely and get to the obvious places - none more obvious than Homs where around 30 people may have been killed in thelast 24 hours. It is to be hoped they can do a great deal more than simly visit the city's governor and they show every intention of trying to do so.
Read more from Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson
