BEIRUT: Syrian army tanks were seen pulling out of Homs on Tuesday as a team of Arab League peace monitors headed for a first look at the protest hotbed city where 34 people were reported killed in the previous 24 hours.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited reports from opposition activists in Homs saying at least 11 tanks had left a district they attacked on Monday, and that other tanks were being hidden.
Opponents of President Bashar al-Assad say districts of Syria’s third biggest city have been hammered by government troops and tanks in recent days, with the Baba Amr neighbourhood taking a pounding from tank fire, mortars and heavy machineguns.
Amateur video recorded by activists yesterday showed tanks prowling around Baba Amr, firing at unseen targets. Video showed gruesome pictures of mangled bodies in the wreckage of building that bore the signs of shelling.
Arab League monitors were expected to see for themselves whether Assad is keeping his promise to cease military action against anti-government protests that began in March. At least 5,000 people have been killed in the crackdown by a UN count.
“We are on our way to Homs, we are about to arrive,” the head of monitoring mission Sudanese General Mustafa Dabi told Reuters by telephone.
Assad’s opponents fear that the monitors – who arrived in the country on Monday after weeks of negotiations with Arab states – will be used as a cloak of respectability for a government that will hide the extent of violence.
The launch of the monitoring mission marks the first international intervention on the ground in Syria since the revolt broke out nine months ago. (UNI)