BEIRUT, January 3 (Itar-Tass) —— The Syrian authorities withdrew the troops from the cities and released more than 3,400 prisoners, but failed to attain a full end to violence, Secretary General of the League of Arab States (LAS) Nabil al-Arabi said on Monday. He urged “not to make hasty conclusions” over the results of the LAS observer mission, which was intended to put an end to the domestic political crisis in Syria that lasts for about ten months. The experts “will need some more time to make a larger progress,” the Egyptian diplomat said.
The LAS observer mission, which is staying in the Syrian regions plunged in the hostilities, will deliver their first report at the end of this week to be debated then at a meeting of the LAS Council of Foreign Ministers. “Despite the withdrawal of the troops, the gunfire continues in Syrian cities that results in new casualties,” the LAS general secretary acknowledged. He noted that the snipers on the roofs pose a greater threat. In this respect, al-Arabi reiterated his appeal for an immediate end to bloodshed by all parties to the conflict.
The LAS observers have been monitoring the situation in the central provinces Homs, Hamah, in Idlib, north-western Syria, southern region Daraa and in the suburbs of Damascus over the past day. The death toll is sharply on the decline.
The police used the tear gas to disperse the demonstrations in the Marja quarter in the second largest city Aleppo, Al-Jazeera reported. A rally was staged in Damascus on Monday evening in the Zahra quarter. The protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad.