Sarkozy demands al-Assad quit over ‘disgusting’ killings
The mission has been mired in controversy since a first team of observers arrived on December 26, with activists accusing Assad’s regime of keeping the monitors on a short leash as it presses on with a lethal crackdown on dissent.
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, in his first remarks since the observers were deployed, defended the mission, saying it had secured the release of political prisoners and the withdrawal of tanks from cities.
However, “there are still snipers and gunfire. There must be a total halt to the gunfire,” he told reporters.
The issue would be raised with Assad’s government “because the aim is to stop the shooting and protect civilians,” Arabi said, adding “it is difficult to say who is firing on whom.”
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said he was “sceptical” about the progress of the Arab League’s operation.
“The conditions under which this observer mission is operating should be clarified,” Juppe said, questioning whether the observers really had free access to information.
President Sarkozy also weighed in, saying Syrians should be allowed “to freely choose their own destiny” after facing what he denounced as brutal persecution that inspires “disgust and revulsion.”
Sarkozy demanded the regime give the observers space to work, and called on the international community to “face up to its responsibilities” by imposing the “toughest sanctions” to force Damascus to grant humanitarian access.
Syria agreed last month to allow the deployment of observers as part of an Arab roadmap calling for the military’s withdrawal from cities and residential zones, a halt to violence against civilians and the release of detainees.
