Beirut: A clash between Syrian forces and army defectors today erupted in a suburb of the tightly held capital of Damascus, adding urgency just as the Arab League was extending an observers' mission that so far has failed to end long months of bloody violence.
The two events outlined how an uprising against President Bashar Assad that started with mass popular protests is moving now toward an armed conflict that could draw international intervention an outcome the Arab League is trying to avoid.
Arab League foreign ministers, meeting in Cairo, extended the much-criticised observers mission for another month, officials from the 22-member organisation said.
The League decided to add more observers and provide them with additional resources, the officials said.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to speak to reporters, said the UN would train the observers.
The observer mission is supposed to be the first step toward implementing an Arab League plan to end the Syria crisis. Other points are pulling heavy Syrian weapons out of cities, stopping attacks on protesters, opening talks with the opposition and allowing foreign human rights workers and journalists in.
"There is partial progress in the implementation of the promises," Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said in Cairo about Syria's implementation of the plan. Syria "did not carry out all its promises, although there are some implementation of pledges."
He added that the use of "extreme force" by Syrian forces have led to a reaction by the opposition "in what could lead to civil war."
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