Syria FM: We weren't playing for time

Damascus has signed an Arab League agreement to allow observers into the country, Syria's foreign minister has said.

Walid Muallem said that the deal was signed after the Arab League accepted amendments demanded by Syria.

He also denied that Damascus had been "playing for time" in delaying the agreement and accused some Arab nations of wanting to "internationalise" the crisis in his country.

The UN estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed as a result of government attempts to quell protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad in recent months.