The Arab League has threatened to take Syria to the United Nations over its handling of the deadly unrest that has gripped the country for months.
An Arab ministerial committee convened in Doha on Saturday, where it proposed that the bloc take its initiative to end the crisis in Syria to the UN Security Council.
Following the meeting, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani, who is also the country’s foreign minister, accused Damascus of “procrastination” to accept an Arab League proposal to send an observer mission to Syria.
He said Arab foreign ministers will hold talks in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the proposal.
The decision came on the heels of a surprise move by Russia to propose a draft resolution to the Security Council.
The Arab League’s measure is meant to “adopt the Arab decisions, instead of that of other countries,” said the Qatari prime minster, referring to Moscow’s UN motion.
“There is no hope to find an exit from this crisis. We have used all possible means, (but) it is clear that there is procrastination,” he said.
The Arab bloc has been mounting pressure on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to allow foreign observers to monitor the situation in the crisis-hit country.
On November 27, the Arab bloc suspended Syria’s membership in the league and approved a raft of sanctions against the country.
Earlier this month, Syria agreed to admit the mission under a number of conditions, including the lifting of sanctions.
Meanwhile, the Russian-drafted resolution accuses the Syrian government of “disproportionate use of force by Syrian authorities,” but also raises concern over “the illegal supply of weapons to the armed groups in Syria.”
Large numbers of people, including security forces, have been killed in the months-long unrest, which the Assad government blames on foreign-backed armed gangs.
The Syrian state TV has also broadcast reports showing seized weapons caches and confessions by terrorists describing how they obtained arms from foreign sources.
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