Qatar Supports Sending Arab Troops to Syria
VOA News January 14, 2012
Qatar says it favors sending Arab troops to Syria to stop a crackdown on anti-government protesters that has left thousands of people dead.
In an interview to be broadcast Sunday, the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, told the U.S. television network CBS that some Arab troops should go to Syria to "stop the killing."
Excerpts of the interview were obtained by Western media outlets.
The emir is the first Arab leader to publicly support Arab military intervention in Syria, where protesters are demanding that President Bashar al-Assad step down.
The emir's comments come as Arab League observers are in Syria to learn whether the Assad government is meeting its pledge to end a 10-month crackdown on protesters. Assad has promised to withdraw security forces from cities, release political prisoners and allow anti-government protests.
Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, heads the Arab League committee on Syria.
He has said the Arab League observer mission has made mistakes in Syria, and that U.N. assistance is needed to improve the monitoring of Assad's government.
The United Nations estimates 5,000 people have been killed in the unrest in Syria. The government accuses armed terrorists of driving the revolt and killing 2,000 security personnel.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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