Arab League monitors in Syria


On December 19, 2011, the Syrian government agreed to allow foreign observers from the Arab League to monitor Syria's progress in removing troops from protest areas, free political prisoners, and negotiate with dissidents. The mission was in accordance with the Arab League peace plan aimed to resolve the Syrian crisis. The monitors were dispatched and supported by the Arab League.

Timeline

26 December 2011

67 Arab League monitors arrive in Syria.

22 January 2012

Saudi Arabia withdraws from the Syrian observers mission.

24 January 2012

The Arab States of the Persian Gulf announce that they are withdrawing from the Arab League's observer mission in Syria.

28 January 2012

The Arab League suspends the monitoring mission due to "the critical deterioration of the situation".

Mission

Their mission was to ensure the government of Syria complies with the terms of the agreement. The Arab League's mission is non-interventionist, their only duty is to observe and report back to the secretary general.

Suspension

On January 28, 2012, the Arab League announced an indefinite suspension of its mission, citing "a harsh new government crackdown made it too dangerous to proceed and was resulting in the deaths of innocent people across the country". Nabil al-Arabi, head of the Arab League, said that following discussions with Arab foreign ministers the league decided to suspend all monitoring activity in Syria.

Reaction

A total of 165 Arab League monitors have participated in the mission. The following countries have been named as participants at some point or another: