Arab mission in Syria needs to be clarified - France

France: French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said yesterday the Arab observer mission in Syria needed to be "clarified" and complained that Russia was blocking any UN condemnation of the Damascus regime.

"The conditions under which this observer mission is operating should be clarified," Juppe told French television I-Tele, adding that he was "sceptical" about its progress.

The Arab League sent in observers as part of a peace plan to try to end months of bloodshed that has left more than 5,000 dead since March, according to the United Nations.

But the mission has been mired in controversy since a first team of 50 observers arrived on December 26, with activists and commentators saying Syrian authorities were keeping the monitors on a short leash and critical of the choice of a former top Sudanese military commander to head the operation. AFP