Beirut: After days of punishing assaults, Syria's army began withdrawing tanks from the restive city of Homs on Tuesday just as a team of Arab League observers was on its way to the central city, according to activists and an Arab official.
Opposition activist Mohammed Saleh said the heavy bombardment of Homs stopped on Tuesday morning and tanks were seen pulling out of the streets. Another Homs-based activist said he saw armoured vehicles leaving early on Tuesday on a highway leading to the city of Palmyra to the east. He asked that his name not be made public for fear of retribution.
For days, military forces had pounded Homs with artillery despite agreeing to an Arab League plan to stop the bloodshed. The Arab monitoring mission is meant to ensure the government complies with the deal to halt the nine-month crackdown on dissent.
Opponents of President Bashar Assad, however, doubt that the Arab League can budge the autocratic leader at the head of one of the Middle East's most repressive regimes.
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