Arab League Chief Postpones Visit To Syria To Press For Halt To Violence

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi

The head of the Arab League has, at the last minute, postponed a planned trip to Syria, in which he was expected to press for a halt to the Syrian regime's deadly crackdown on protesters.

Syria's official SANA news agency said the government had asked Arab League Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi to delay his visit to Damascus.

The report said the visit would be rescheduled. It was not immediately clear why the trip was postponed.

Al-Arabi had been expected to arrive in Syria today to present Arab League calls for an end to the bloodshed and for political and economic reforms.

In another development, the U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, said that while some Syrian security force members have been killed in the unrest, the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad bears responsibility for the violence that United Nations officials estimate has killed more than 2,200 people since mid-March.

In a statement on Facebook, Ford said neither the Syrian protest movement nor the international community believe that the Syrian regime is capable of implementing credible reforms.

compiled from agency reports