At Least 33 More Killed in Syria Violence

Arab League to Hold 'Emergency Meeting' on Pact

Can the Arab League still salvage its pact to end the violence in Syria? Over a week after the deal was announced league members are planning an emergency meeting in Cairo in an effort to figure that out.

The pact was supposed to have all Syrian troops and tanks removed from protest cities, and all political prisoners captured since February released. Though the regime has released a small portion of the prisoners, the violence has if anything escalated.

And it continued again today, with reports that another 33 have been slain, many of them around Homs. This would bring the toll since the deal was announced to around 300 killed.

The Arab League initially gave Syria 15 days to implement the reforms they agreed to, and while the deadline won’t pass for another five days there is no indication that the troops are anywhere near leaving the cities.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.