More Syrian deaths as details emerge of Arab peace bid
15-year-old boy shot dead
Syrian forces killed two people as they pressed their crackdown on dissent yesterday, on the eve of a visit by the Arab League chief to push for an end to the violence and urge reforms and elections.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a 15-year-old boy and another civilian were killed by gunfire in the flashpoint central province of Homs, where another five bodies were found yesterday.
The latest bloodshed came as the embattled regime of President Bashar al-Assad prepared to host Arab League secretary general Nabil al-Arabi today who is carrying a 13-point initiative to help end the crisis.
It also comes a day after the International Committee of the Red Cross said Syria had agreed, for the first time since anti-regime protests erupted more than five months ago, to allow its delegates to visit a detention centre.
More than 2,200 people have been killed in Syria since the almost daily mass protests began, according to UN figures. Human rights groups say that more than 10,000 are behind bars.
Mr Assad’s regime says it is fighting foreign-backed “armed terrorist gangs”.
The Arab League chief has been tasked by foreign ministers of the 22-member bloc with travelling to Damascus with a 13-point document outlining proposals to end the bloodshed and push Syria to launch reforms.
According to a copy of the document seen by AFP, Mr Arabi will propose that Assad hold elections in three years, move towards a pluralistic government and halt immediately the crackdown on anti-regime protesters.
The initiative, agreed at an Arab foreign ministers’ meeting in Cairo last month, calls for a “clear declaration of principles by President Bashar al-Assad specifying commitment to reforms he made in past speeches.”
It says Mr Assad should declare his “commitment to making the transition towards a pluralistic government and use his powers to speed up reforms and announce multi-candidate elections... for 2014, when his current mandate ends”.