First Arab monitors arrive in Syria

The first group of Arab monitors arrived in Syria on Monday to assess whether Damascus is adhering to a plan to end a nine-month crackdown on protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule, a member of the Arab delegation in Damascus said.

Fifty monitors and 10 officials from the Arab League secretariat were flying on a private Egyptian airplane, a Cairo airport source said before the aircraft took off. The observer mission will eventually include about 150 people, League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby told Reuters last week. (Reuters)