Al-Dabi: Armed Men Open Fire on Government Institutions, Terrorist Attacks Targeted Oil Pipelines, Electricity Pylons in Syria

Head of Arab League observers mission to Syria Lieutenant General Mohammad al-Dabi stressed that there are armed men opening fire on government institutions in a number of Syrian governorates, forcing the guards at these institutions to return fire.

In a press conference held in Cairo on Monday, al-Dabi said that there were many terrorist bombings that targeted governmental institutions in Idleb which is completely unacceptable, in addition to combings targeting civilian and military buses, gas and oil pipelines, fuel tankers, bridges, electric power plants and pylons, along with bombings in Damascus countryside.

He underlined that the Syrian government was effectively cooperative and provided protection for the mission on the roads, adding that the government didn’t interfere in the mission’s work or accompany it.

Al-Dabi said that the Syrian government withdrew the army from cities, and that there is no presence of tanks or planes and whatnot, noting that the credibility of media has become in doubt and that some media establishments were tough in dealing with the mission, adding that what was published didn’t affect the mission at all and that it depicted what it saw and the reality it witnessed, stressing that the mission didn’t resort to guesswork, analysis or personal concepts and opinion.

He pointed out violence began to deescalate gradually since the mission arrived, and that the mission helped reduce tension during protests and that no attacks against the protests took place.

Al-Dabi said that some in the opposition gave the mission differing numbers regarding detainees and they discovered that these numbers were general estimations and not accurate, adding that the Syrian government informed them of the release of 4035 detainees before the amnesty decree, making the number of released detainees 7614, adding that the mission was informed that around 2316 people were released by the military judiciary and that there are 2239 that were set to be released after the report was written.

He went on to note that the Syrian government approved the entry of 147 mass media establishments, noting that the mission discussed extending the period for journalists’ permits with the Syrian government which complied and extended their permits, expressing readiness to provide permits to any agency that wishes to enter Syria.

Al-Dabi said that some mass media criticized the mission harshly and accused it of failure despite the fact that it’s task is monitoring and supervising the implementation of the protocol, not investigating, stressing that the mission isn’t tasked with giving a political opinion.

He demanded that mass media relay the facts as they are on the ground, adding that the report wasn’t issued by him personally but rather is based by what all the observers presented.

“Some Arab media channels and institutions attacking the mission for not writing what they want,” he added.

Al-Dabi said that the mission stressed the need to expedite the launch of national dialogue during the mission’s work because its presence will lead to positive results.

He also noted that the mission received many false reports and avoided them by verifying their sources before moving out, affirming that the mission’s members were safe and that they were not harassed while doing their work.

On the statements of some observers to the media, al-Dabi said that observer Fahim al-Atlasi is still with the mission and that he made no statement and what was reported as such didn’t happen, as for Anwar Malek, he had remained in the hotel under the claim that he was sick and went out only once, stressing that what Malek said is his own business and doesn’t concern the mission.

Regarding some sides’ questioning of al-Dabi on a personal level, he said “I’m not a wanted man to defend myself, so I won’t respond to what was said in the media.”

As for the accusations of the opposition, al-Dabi said that responding to the opposition and their delusions isn’t part of his duty and doesn’t concern him at all.