Syria said to back Arab observer mission

Syrian officials said Monday they welcomed an Arab League observer mission that it said would prove the country is dealing with an insurgency. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad signed a measure in Cairo with Arab League Deputy Secretary-General Ahmad bin Hilly for an observer mission in Syria. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said certain provisions included in the measure give protection to his country's sovereignty. Reports from the observer mission, he said, would be sent to the Arab League secretary general and to Damascus before any further action is considered. "We will be serious, objective and professional in dealing with the observers' mission which will have a time of one month that can be extended for one more month only with the approval of the two parties," he said in statements published by the official Syrian Arab News Agency. The United Nations estimates that at least 5,000 people have been killed by Syrian forces since an uprising against President Bashar Assad began in mid-March. Assad has said his country is dealing with an insurgency, which has prompted some observers to claim the country is on the verge of civil war. "We welcome every sincere Arab effort to resolve the crisis and the observers will see that there are armed terrorist groups wreaking havoc and killing people," the foreign minister said. Damascus in November said it backed an Arab League deal to pull its military equipment off the streets.