Arab observers carry on with monitoring in Syria
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Xinhua, December 31, 2011
Arab observers continued their monitoring job in Syria for the fifth day by visiting a number of neighborhoods in central and southern Syria, as two key opposition parties at home and abroad have reached a common political vision to reject foreign intervention.
A group of Arab observers visited the National Hospital in Daraa province in southern Syria and a number of restive neighborhoods in central Homs province, which has emerged as one of Syria's most volatile areas.
A day earlier, the observers visited Harasta and Douma suburbs of the capital Damascus and met with local residents there, state- run SANA news agency reported.
They also visited the National Hospital in central Hama province and met with a number of injured people, said SANA.
The observers have so far traveled to a number of cities including Daraa and Homs, and preparations are underway for sending 40 observers from the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Iraq to Syria, according to AL sources.
The Syrian government signed the observer mission protocol in Egyptian capital Cairo on Dec. 19, after the AL threatened to refer the Syrian crisis to the United Nations Security Council.
The observers are tasked with ensuring that the Syrian government abides by its commitments agreed in the AL peace plan, including removing its security forces and heavy weapons from urban streets, starting talks with opposition leaders and allowing human rights workers and journalists into the country.
Meanwhile, the opposing National Coordination Body has reached an agreement with the Turkish-based Syrian National Council that would lay foundations for the basic rules of democratic struggle and the transitional era, mainly rejecting the idea of any foreign military intervention that might infringe upon the country's sovereignty and independence, and paving the way for a transitional era that would begin with the collapse of the current regime and the endorsement of a new constitution.
Hassan Abdul-Azim, the general coordinator of the National Coordination Body, reportedly said that the two sides reached a " common political vision to reject foreign intervention, armament, violence and sectarian rifts."
He stressed that the agreement is binding for the two sides, adding that they have agreed to unite and coordinate efforts towards political, media, and diplomatic issues.
He said his group has provided the Arab monitors with the names of activists in different parts of the country to contact them.
Syrian government has said more than 2,000 of its security forces and army personnel have been killed by alleged terrorist groups since the beginning of unrest in Syria in mid March.
