Arab League rejects Syria’s amendments to peace proposals

The Cairo-based organisation said changes put forward by Damascus alter the “essence” of the plan.

In a statement yesterday, the league told the Syrian government that its proposals were also unacceptable because they introduce “drastic changes” to the mandate of an observers’ mission the league wants to dispatch to Syria to ensure the implementation of the peace plan.

President Bashar Assad’s regime has cracked down on an eight-month-old uprising against his rule and the league’s plan provides for the withdrawal of the government’s tanks from the streets, the release of political prisoners and a halt to attacks on civilians.

Assad has vowed to continue with the security crackdown to crush “militants” who he says are massacring Syrians on a daily basis.

The embattled president told The Sunday Times that he feels “pain and sorrow” for the bloodshed in Syria but added the solution was to eliminate the militants he blames for much of the violence.

He said 800 Syrian officers and members of the security forces have been killed since the start of the revolt. The UN says 3,500 have been killed in the unrest since mid-March.