Syria pushed to keep its promise to end violence against protesters

Syria has accepted an Arab League proposal calling for it to withdraw armoured vehicles from the streets and stop violence against protesters in an attempt to end the country’s seven-month-old political crisis that has led to the deaths of about 3,000 people.

The agreement was announced by Qatar’s foreign minister, Hamad bin Jassim, who urged Damascus to follow up with action on the ground. Syria has continued its bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters despite international condemnation and previous promises of reform.

In the latest wave of violence, machine-gun fire and explosions erupted inside a city at the heart of Syria’s uprising as activists reported two attacks that killed at least 20 people in the past 24 hours, although it was not clear who was behind them.

Syria agreed to withdraw all tanks and armoured vehicles from the streets, stop violence against protesters, release all political prisoners arrested during the uprising and begin a dialogue with the opposition within two weeks.

It also agreed to allow journalists, human rights groups and Arab League representatives to monitor the situation in the country. All have been previously banned from entering the country by one of the Arab world’s most repressive regimes. Key sources of information during this time have been amateur videos posted online, witness accounts and details gathered by activist groups.

Mr Jassim said: “We are happy to have reached the agreement and we’ll be happier if it is carried out. Now it is important for the Syrian side to carry out this agreement because it is what will allow the situation to quiet down and the crisis to be resolved. We hope that there will be serious follow-through.”

Arab nations have been eager to avoid a repeat of the civil war in Libya that led to the capture and brutal treatment of Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi before he was killed.

In the proposal, the Arab League said it sought to prevent foreign intervention in Syria – a marked difference from the situation in Libya, in which an Arab League decision helped pave the way for Nato airstrikes.

However, it remains unclear whether the agreement will make a difference and it does not list consequences should Syria continue its crackdown.

Nor did the proposal state where the dialogue between authorities and the opposition is to take place. Arab diplomats involved in the process said they had suggested Cairo, while Syrian insisted that all dialogue take place in the capital, Damascus.

Syria’s opposition has refused to enter into any dialogue as long as president Bashar Assad remains in power.

The Scotsman revealed yesterday that there was fear within some opposition groups that an agreement could be used to “crush” the revolution.

The United Nations says about 3,000 people have been killed since the revolt began in March.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that he supported the agreement.

“I hope that this agreement will be implemented without delay,” he added.

The fresh bloodshed, which started late on Tuesday, suggests Syria is sliding toward chaos amid increasing signs that the crisis was exacerbating religious and sectarian tensions.

The violence affected residents across Homs, a city which has endured the brunt of the Syrian government’s brutal crackdown on dissent. It was not clear who was behind the latest attacks.

The Syrian opposition’s two main activist groups said gunmen attacked factory workers in the Houla district yesterday, killing 11 people. Majd Amer, a local activist, said some of the men were decapitated and others shot in the head, their hands tied behind their backs.

Amateur videos posted online showed the men, bound and gagged, lying on the ground.

The killing spree amounted to a “massacre”, said the activist groups, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Co-ordination Committees network.

Mr Amer and activist Mohammad Saleh in Homs said gunmen also attacked a bus carrying workers from the nearby village of Jib Abbas as they were returning from their jobs, killing nine passengers. They said the gunmen stopped the bus, released the women passengers, then killed the others.

The activists said the army brought in heavy reinforcements to the streets of Homs yesterday morning.

Heavy machine-gun fire and explosions could be heard on the streets and residents said most people had stayed at home because of the violence.