Saleem al-Qabani, a member of the Local Coordination Committees opposition group in Homs, said he had canceled a meeting with the monitors because they insisted on having army officers with them, including at least one whom Qabani said he recognized as having killed protesters.
The monitors said they had met with ruling Ba’ath Party members in the neighborhood, Qabani said in a phone interview.
Another activist, who is in contact with people in the area, said government forces fired from buildings in Baba Amr while observers were nearby.
Because Syria has closed its borders to journalists, it is not possible to confirm such reports.
Also yesterday, Syrian state media reported the release of 755 prisoners who had been arrested during the protests. More than 2,500 prisoners were also reportedly released last month. But human rights activists say that many more have been arrested and that the state has failed to provide a comprehensive list of those detained.
Sarah Leah Watson, of Human Rights Watch, said the release of some detainees was a good sign. But she expressed concern about reports obtained by the rights group that other detainees were being moved, possibly in advance of planned inspections by the monitors.
Watson also raised concerns about whether the Arab League monitors are properly qualified for their mission. About 60 monitors are now in Syria, with more due. Their names have not been released.
Watson said the Arab League should have offered assurances that the group had received training in human rights investigations before being deployed to Syria.
“It’s not enough to have once been in government. They need training in finding things that governments are trying to hide,’’ Watson said.
Specifically, Watson questioned what she called troubling information about the head of the delegation, General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, a veteran of the Sudanese intelligence service.
