Arab League advance team to visit Syria Thursday

CAIRO - The Associated Press

Demonstrators protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. REUTERS photo

An Arab League official says an advance team will travel to Syria Thursday to prepare for an observer mission that the Syrian government agreed to this week.

The mission is tasked with ensuring the regime's compliance with an Arab plan for ending the nation's political violence.

The 12-member advance team will be led by the Arab League's assistant secretary-general, Sameer Seif el-Yazal.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby told reporters Monday that the advance delegation will include legal, administrative, financial and human rights experts to discuss the makeup of the observer teams.
On Monday, Syria agreed to the Arab League plan to send foreign monitors, bending to growing international pressure to end its bloody crackdown on a nine-month uprising.