Syria unrest: Al-Arabi dismisses mission criticisms

The head of the Arab League has defended his organisation's observer mission in Syria, following the criticism of a former monitor who said it was a farce.

Nabil al-Arabi said the mission was encouraging more Syrians to take part in peaceful demonstrations and that a large number of military vehicles had been withdrawn from cities.

He said the observers were in Syria to stop the fighting, but admitted "it has not stopped. That's why we have to rethink what we can do."