Monitors In Syria 'Want To Extend Mission'

Lisa Holland, foreign affairs correspondent

Arab League monitors are likely to recommend extending their mission in Syria and believe they have succeeded in taking heavy weapons off the streets to protect civilians, Sky News has learned.

The chief monitor is expected to publish the report later today or on Friday.

And Sky sources suggest it will say the Syrian authorities have broadly co-operated but that the violence has continued.

The mission has been hit by controversy, with the opposition claiming it serves as a cover for the regime to continue its brutal crackdown against protesters.

Syrian government tanks and armoured vehicles pulled back from the embattled mountain town of Zabadani near the capital Damascus, activists and witnesses said.

But at least nine people were reportedly killed by security forces elsewhere as the month-long fact-finding mission expired.

 

 

Opposition figures claim up to 25 people a day are being killed in the uprising - a figure which is up since the start of the observer mission.

Arab League foreign ministers will consider extending the mission at two meetings in Cairo, Egypt, over the weekend.

The monitors will remain in 17 different places around Syria until the organisation makes a final decision, says Adnan al Khudeir, head of Cairo operations room that handles reports by the monitors.

The monitors have been operating inside Syria since the end of December.

They are likely to highlight some areas where the Syrians have co-operated but the reality is the violence has continued.

They also claim they are breaking down fear amongst protesters about going onto the streets to demonstrate.

The uprising has hit Syria's economy hard, with tourism almost collapsing and trade down too.

Before the protests early last year, it is claimed the hotels were nearly all full but the numbers have fallen dramatically.

Crac des Chevaliers has seen visitor numbers fall since the uprising

At the world-famous Crac des Chevaliers, a 12th-century Crusader castle, there are now only about 10 visitors a day, and fewer than 10 European tourists a month.

It is also claimed some truck drivers are afraid to use trade routes from Turkey. They say the roads are dangerous to use at night due to terrorists.

And at the Mediterranean city of Tartus, the port is quiet.

With trade reduced, this may do more harm to the regime than protests and condemnation from foreign powers.

President Bashar al Assad is continuing to stand firm, despite growing international pressure over the violence in the country.

Tartus is the main Mediterranean port used by the Russian Navy, and Syria still has support from Moscow and China at the UN Security Council.

Russia says it will block any attempts by Western military to intervene in Syria.
And Lebanon and Iraq - Arab League members that both border Syria - still also back it.

See pictures below taken by the Sky News team in Syria.