Arab League mission to visit embattled Syrian city of Homs - CNN.com

Arab League mission to visit embattled Syrian city of Homs - CNN.com

clip from article: The observers' visit is part of an agreement President Bashar al-Assad's government made with the Arab League last week, calling for withdrawal of Syrian security forces from around cities, releasing detainees and ending all forms of violence.

Jamal Barakat, a member of the Egyptian National Council for Human Rights, said he is part of the Arab League mission.

Barakat said Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Al Araby "emphasized the importance of neutrality, objectivity and transparency of our work" during the fact-finding mission.

The mission will be broken up into different groups that will visit different cities, he said.

Araby said observers will visit several areas including in the provinces of Homs, Idlib, Hama, Damascus, and Daraa.

In recent weeks, the Syrian government has increased attacks that left scores dead, including many in the flashpoint city of Homs, opposition groups say.

Opposition activist Danielle Moussa, whose group was working to retrieve bodies, said government units in tanks bombarded Homs on Monday.

CNN cannot independently verify opposition accounts of violence or reports of deaths and injuries in Syria. Al-Assad's government has restricted access to international journalists.

The LCC said many of the deaths Monday were in the Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr.

A resident of the neighborhood told CNN he had no food left.

"The Red Crescent tried to bring food, but they were stopped at the entrance to the city," said a man who identified himself as Abu Omar.

CNN could not immediately reach officials with the Red Crescent for comment.

In another Homs neighborhood, Inshiaat, a resident -- who wanted to be identified only by her first name, Lubna, for safety reasons -- said people could not move freely because of snipers in buildings.

She said the army shot a man who was standing in the minaret of a mosque asking doctors to come to the nearby hospital and help people.

The man died from his gunshot wounds, Lubna and Abu Omar said.

The unrest in Syria began in March when protesters, emboldened by successful democracy movements in Tunisia and Egypt, called for open elections and an increase in political freedoms. The movement quickly spiraled into a call for the ouster of al-Assad, whom the opposition and international leaders say has responded with a brutal crackdown.

The uprising launched the Free Syrian Army, a rebel force made up of military defectors and efforts to create a breakaway government.

The Arab League has expelled Syria over its crackdown. But many question how effective the visit by league observers will be. [read more at link - excellent article, in my humble opinion]