Arab monitors claims on Homs untrue: Syrian activist

Arab League monitors turned a blind eye to shootings that took place in Homs, undermining the mission head's comments that he saw "nothing frightening" in the city, Syria's opposition group, the Local Coordination Committees, said.

Sudanese General Mustafa Dabi, head of the Arab League observers, remarked on Wednesday that the situation in Homs "seemed reassuring so far."

"Some places looked a bit of a mess but there was nothing frightening," Dabi said.

An activist reportedly based in Homs disputed Dabi's comments, stating that monitors "saw with their own eyes" clashes taking place in Homs.

"Yesterday when the head of the committee (Dabi) came to Baba Amro district, we heard live ammunition being fired. We told him there was live ammunition being fired, but he answered that it was not clear what was the source," the activist who identified himself as Saleem Kabbani said by phone.

Kabbani said the monitors initially requested to visit Baba Amro – the scene of an alleged crackdown by Syrian forces on Monday – in the accompany of Syrian troops.

The locals refused the monitors' request, Kabbani said, and the Arab observers eventually agreed to enter the area without Syrian troops after negotiations.

Kabbani added that members of the Arab monitors were pressured by locals to sit with families of slain and detained protesters.

"I do not deny that there were some monitors who had sympathy with us, but that sympathy was not there with the coordinators of the Arab League team," he said.

The LCC released videos showing clashes in the presence of Arab League monitors in Homs in an apparent contradiction of Dabi's remarks that "there were no clashes" during their visit.

Another video shows a dead child wrapped in cloth placed on top of an Arab League monitor's vehicle. People gathered around the corpse and some placed empty shells on the body and chanted anti-Assad slogans.

In the final LCC footage, Arab League monitors can be seen next to what appears to be a Syrian army military vehicle.

None of these videos could be independently verified.

Kabbani, reiterating the comments of Syrian National Council head Burhan Ghalioun, called for the transfer of the Arab League's plan to the UN Security Council, suggesting the Arab observers are not able to adequately implement the initiative.

"We are asking for the lifting of Arab monitoring. All our protests are asking for the lifting of Arab monitoring," he said.

"We are calling for the UN Security Council to take over."

At least 5,000 people have been killed since the Syrian uprising began in March, according to the latest UN figures.

Reports of violence are difficult to verify as independent journalists are not permitted to freely cover the crisis in Syria.

Arab observers are in the country as part of an Arab League initiative endorsed by Damascus to end the violence.

(Al-Akhbar)