Arab monitors report 136 deaths, al-Dabi defends works

Arab monitors in Syria have so far reported 136 deaths and the number includes supporters of both the opposition and the government, the head of the monitoring team said on Monday.    

"We have reported 136 cases of killing ... and they included both sides, opposition and the government, and included the recent explosions," Sudanese General Mohammed al-Dabi told a news conference at the Arab League in Cairo.     

The head of the Arab League's observation team to Syria also struck back at critics who say the mission has failed to stop violence between security forces and opposition groups seeking to oust President Bashar Assad.   

Al-Dabi told reporters in Cairo on Monday that it was never the mission's job to stop violence, but to document progress on the League's peace plan.   

Al-Dabi, a Sudanese army general who has been accused of war crimes, defended the mission. He says that since its start, violence has gone down, prisoners have been released and some protests have been allowed to proceed peacefully.          

The Arab League on Sunday extended the observer mission for another month and presented a new initiative aimed at ending the crisis which Syria's government rejected.

AP/Reuters