OBSERVERS

Arab League Sets Deadline on Syria

With withdraw monitors if extension not met by Thursday.

An Arab League official said Tuesday that the group will suspend its monitoring mission if Syria does not accept an extension. Syria must make a decision on the Arab League’s extension by Thursday, said the official. The Gulf Arab nations pulled monitors out of Syria on Tuesday, citing the constant bloodshed—including at least 52 people who were reportedly killed on Tuesday. The 22-nation Arab League has called on President Bashar al-Assad to end the crackdown on civilians that began last March and has reportedly killed thousands. The Arab League secretary-general and the Qatari prime minister jointly wrote a letter to the United Nations on Tuesday requesting a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the league’s proposed unity agreement for Syria, an Arab League official said.