The protesters in Homs urged the Arab observers to be more outspoken
Arab League observers
have begun a second day of trying to monitor the situation in Syria,
after a turbulent start to their mission in Homs.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in the restive central city on Tuesday to denounce the government. Activists said several people died when troops opened fire to disperse them.
The monitors are tasked with verifying compliance with a peace plan aimed at ending the government crackdown, which has left thousands dead since March.
The UN says at least 5,000 people have been killed. The Syrian government - which says it is fighting "armed terrorist gangs" - says 2,000 members of the security forces have lost their lives.
Casualty figures and other information are hard to verify from Syria as most foreign media are banned from reporting.
'Where is justice?' The BBC's Jim Muir in neighboring Lebanon says the first day of the Arab observer mission brought several clear messages.
Syrian security forces, which had by multiple accounts been pounding several residential areas in Homs with artillery, eased off before the observers arrived and pulled some of their tanks off the streets.
But when protesters took to the streets, tear gas and live fire
were used to disperse them, despite the fact that under the peace plan,
all military forces are supposed to be withdrawn and peaceful
demonstrations permitted.
Our correspondent says that if Syria's government loosens its iron grip, as the Arab League peace plan insists it should, whole towns and cities will fall out of its control.
That is why, he adds, the opposition is convinced that the government is just going the motions of co-operating with the Arab League, stringing the observers along and making some cosmetic changes on the surface, while trying to leave the basic situation unaltered.
Activists said security forces killed at least 16 people across Syria on Tuesday, including six in Homs. One group, the Local Co-ordination Committees, put the death toll at 42, including 17 in Homs and seven in nearby Hama.
The head of the mission said its first day had been "very good".
"I am returning to Damascus for meetings and I will return tomorrow to Homs," Mustafa al-Dabi, a Sudanese general, told reporters. "The team is staying in Homs. Today was very good and all sides were responsive."
Human rights groups have criticised the appointment of Gen Dabi, saying that it is impossible to imagine someone who has held senior Sudanese military and government posts, including in the Darfur region, ever recommending strong action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
The Arab League says Gen Dabi has military and diplomatic expertise.
The monitors are tasked with verifying compliance with a peace plan aimed at ending the government crackdown, which has left thousands dead since March.
The UN says at least 5,000 people have been killed. The Syrian government - which says it is fighting "armed terrorist gangs" - says 2,000 members of the security forces have lost their lives.
Casualty figures and other information are hard to verify from Syria as most foreign media are banned from reporting.
'Where is justice?' The BBC's Jim Muir in neighboring Lebanon says the first day of the Arab observer mission brought several clear messages.
Syrian security forces, which had by multiple accounts been pounding several residential areas in Homs with artillery, eased off before the observers arrived and pulled some of their tanks off the streets.
Omar Shakir, an eyewitness in Homs, said Syrian forces were still attacking the city
Video footage posted on the internet showed
angry residents in the flashpoint district of Baba Amr surrounding the
monitors and pointing to pools of blood as gunfire rang out in the
background.
The protesters also urged the observers to be more outspoken. One old man shouted: "Where is justice? Where are the Arabs?"Our correspondent says that if Syria's government loosens its iron grip, as the Arab League peace plan insists it should, whole towns and cities will fall out of its control.
That is why, he adds, the opposition is convinced that the government is just going the motions of co-operating with the Arab League, stringing the observers along and making some cosmetic changes on the surface, while trying to leave the basic situation unaltered.
Activists said security forces killed at least 16 people across Syria on Tuesday, including six in Homs. One group, the Local Co-ordination Committees, put the death toll at 42, including 17 in Homs and seven in nearby Hama.
In addition to the deaths reported by
activists, Syria's state news agency Sana said two roadside bombs
targeted a bus carrying employees of a state company in the
north-western province of Idlib, killing six.
Some members of the Arab observer team spent Tuesday night in
Homs. Others travelled back to Damascus and were expected to return on
Wednesday morning.The head of the mission said its first day had been "very good".
"I am returning to Damascus for meetings and I will return tomorrow to Homs," Mustafa al-Dabi, a Sudanese general, told reporters. "The team is staying in Homs. Today was very good and all sides were responsive."
Human rights groups have criticised the appointment of Gen Dabi, saying that it is impossible to imagine someone who has held senior Sudanese military and government posts, including in the Darfur region, ever recommending strong action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
The Arab League says Gen Dabi has military and diplomatic expertise.
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