海角大神

Syria聽is ready to let Arab monitors extend their mission beyond this week, an Arab source said on Tuesday, but a rebel army chief said they should go as they had failed to curb a crackdown on protesters seeking President聽Bashar al-Assad's overthrow.

Damascus聽opposes broadening the scope of the聽Arab League聽observer mission, the source at the League said, but would accept a one-month extension of its mandate which expires on Thursday.

However, Riad al-Asaad, the Turkish-based commander of the rebel聽Free Syrian Army, called for international intervention to replace the observer team which is monitoring聽Syria's implementation of a League plan to end 10 months of bloodshed.

U.N. officials say more than 5,000 people have been killed in the violence across聽Syria聽and the government says 2,000 members of its security forces have died.

罢丑别听Arab League聽must decide whether to withdraw its 165 monitors or keep them in聽Syria, even though they are expected to report that聽Damascus聽has not fully implemented a peace plan agreed on Nov. 2. Arab foreign ministers are set to discuss the team's future on Jan. 22.

"The outcome of the contacts that have taken place over the past week between the聽Arab Leagueand聽Syria聽have affirmed that聽Syria聽will not reject the renewal of the Arab monitoring mission for another month ... if the Arab foreign ministers call for this at the coming meeting," the source said.

The Arab plan required聽Syria聽to halt the bloodshed, withdraw troops from cities, free detainees, provide access for the monitors and the media and open talks with opposition forces.

"FAILED MONITORS"

Rebel commander Asaad opposed any extension of the mandate.

"罢丑别听Arab League聽and their monitors failed in their mission and though we respect and appreciate our Arab brothers for their efforts, we think they are incapable of improving conditions in聽Syria聽or resisting this regime," he told Reuters.

"For that reason we call on them to turn the issue over to the U.N.聽Security Council聽and we ask that the international community intervene because they are more capable of protecting Syrians at this stage than our Arab brothers," Asaad said.

The source said聽Beijing听补苍诲听Moscow聽had urged President Assad to accept an extension of the monitoring mission as a way to avert an escalation at the international level.

Syria聽would agree to an increase in the number of monitors, he said, but would not allow them to be given formal fact-finding duties or be allowed into "military zones" that are not included in the existing Arab peace plan.

Any change in the scope of the mission, whether to militarise it or let it investigate human rights abuses and potentially assign blame, would require a new agreement with聽Syria, the source said.

Qatar聽has proposed sending in Arab troops, a bold idea for the often sluggish League and one likely to be resisted by Arab rulers close to Assad and those worried about unrest at home.

Syria's聽foreign ministry聽said on Tuesday it was "astonished" at聽Qatar's suggestion, which it "absolutely rejected".

AN OLD ALLY

The League could ask the U.N.聽Security Council聽to act, but until now opposition from聽Russia聽andChina聽has prevented the world body from even criticising聽Syria, an old ally of聽Moscow.

Western diplomats said a Russian draft resolution handed to the council on Monday did not make clear if聽Moscow聽would accept tough language demanded by the West.

French Deputy聽Foreign Ministry聽spokesman聽Romain Nadal聽described聽Moscow's latest draft as disappointing, saying聽Paris聽had proposed constructive amendments to the Russian text.

"After a month of silence a new text has just been submitted by聽Russia, which still falls far short of responding to the reality in聽Syria," he said. "We've been saying this for months now: the聽Security Council's silence is scandalous."

Few Western powers favour any Libyan-style military action in聽Syria, which lies in the heart of the conflict-prone Middle East. Bordering聽Lebanon,听罢耻谤办别测,听闯辞谤诲补苍,听Iraq听补苍诲听Israel, it is allied to Iran and the armed Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah group.

Iran condemned what it called foreign interference in the affairs of its closest Arab ally,聽Syria, and praised reforms President Assad has promised as "problem-solving".

"We are fundamentally against interfering in the affairs of other countries. We think it does not solve the problems but will only make them more complicated,"聽Foreign Ministry聽spokesman聽Ramin Mehmanparast聽told a news conference.

Assad, while offering reform, has vowed to crush his opponents with an "iron fist", but Syrians braving bullets and torture chambers appear equally determined to add him to the list of the past year's toppled Arab leaders.

Army deserters and other rebels have taken up arms against security forces dominated by Assad's minority Alawite sect, pushing Sunni Muslim-majority聽Syria聽closer to civil war.

ROCKETS AND TANK FIRE

Syria's state news agency聽SANA聽reported on Tuesday that what it called terrorists had fired rockets, killing an officer and five of his men at a rural checkpoint near聽Damascus. Seven others were wounded in the incident, a day after gunmen assassinated a brigadier general near the capital.

Eight people were killed when a bomb hit a minibus on the聽Aleppo-Idlib road, the聽Syrian Observatory聽for Human Rights said.

In聽Homs, tank fire crashed into the聽Khalidiya聽district after a night rally against Assad there, activists said. YouTube footage showed a crowd dancing at the rally and waving the old Syrian flag used before the聽Baath Party聽seized power in 1963.

罢丑别听British-based Observatory聽said eight people were killed in violence in聽Homs, a flashpoint city of one million racked by unrest, crackdowns and Sunni-Alawite sectarian killings.

Activists also reported fighting between rebels and troops trying to edge into聽Khalidiya, a neighbourhood that is home to Sunni tribesmen and lies next to the Alawite district of Nozha.

Tanks were firing sporadically at the rebel-held town of聽Zabadani, near the Lebanese border, which has been under attack since Friday, activists said. They added that several soldiers who had tried to defect to the opposition had been killed.

Syrian forces shot dead a man at a roadblock in the restive聽Damascus聽suburb of Qatana, they said, and an activist was killed by sniper fire in the northwestern town of聽Khan Sheikhoun.

罢丑别听United States, the聽European Union,聽Turkey聽and the Arab League have announced sanctions against聽Syria, but while these have hurt its economy, they have yet to prompt Assad to change course. Opposition to sanctions from some of聽Syria's trading partners, notably聽Lebanon听补苍诲听Iraq, also dilutes their impact.

Security Council聽members have been divided for months over the uprising against Assad, with Western countries pushing for strong condemnation of the government's bloody crackdown butRussia聽seeking to shield聽Damascus.

In October,聽Russia听补苍诲听China聽vetoed a European-drafted resolution that threatened possible sanctions.聽Russia聽presented its own draft on Dec. 15 and Western countries agreed to discuss and negotiate it, but there has been little progress since then. (Additional reporting by Ayman Samir in Cairo, Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, and Mariam Karouny and Dominic Evans in Beirut; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by David Stamp)