Syria ignores Arab deadline, faces new sanctions

Syria: Syria faced new sanctions after flouting Sunday an Arab League deadline to accept observers to monitor the unrest sweeping the country, which the UN says has killed at least 4,000 people.

The latest standoff between Syria and the Arab League comes as the death toll from violence across the country on Saturday and Sunday rose to at least 63, and after the UN Human Rights Council accused Damascus of “gross violations” of human rights.

A senior Qatari official said Damascus had asked for “new clarifications and further amendments to be made to the protocol which was proposed” to cover the deployment of the observer mission. But the Arab ministers had “refused.” The Qatari official said, however, that if Syrian officials “still want to sign, they can come tomorrow to Cairo.”

AFP