Syrian Crisis Monitored By Arab League

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• unrest: conflict
• settle: reach an agreement
• dispute: disagreement
• monitor: observe or check on the progress
• outskirts: the outer or border area of a city or region
• corpse: dead body
• crackdown: strict measures taken to prevent certain behaviour

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Syrian Crisis Monitored By Arab League

In an effort to end the political unrest in Syria, the Arab League, an organization that attempts to settle disputes in the , has been sent in to monitor a “peace plan” that the government agreed to. The organization claims that its goal is to protect civilians and establish a cease-fire in Syria. According to the Arab League’s secretary general,  vehicles are now in the outskirts of Syria’s  cities, and some food supplies have been delivered. Approximately 3500 political prisoners have been released by the government, and many corpses have been removed from the . Despite the achievements, protests against the President’s regime have grown stronger and snipers continue to take out . The UN believes that more than 5000 people have been killed in Syria since the March crackdown on anti-government protests.

Comprehension Questions

1. What is the Arab League?
2. What did the government do at prisons in Syria after the monitors arrived?
3. What happened last March?

Discussion Question: Some advisors are calling for the monitors to withdraw from their “peace” mission. This is partly due to the credibility of the chief observer who may have a bias towards the Syrian government. Why is it important to have a neutral observer on a mission such as this?

hide Answers

Syrian Crisis Monitored By Arab League
In an effort to end the political unrest in Syria, the Arab League, an organisation that attempts to settle disputes in the Arab World, has been sent in to monitor a “peace plan” that the government agreed to. The organisation claims that its goal is to protect civilians and establish a cease-fire in Syria. According to the Arab League’s secretary general, military vehicles are now in the outskirts of Syria’s main cities, and some food supplies have been delivered. Approximately 3500 political prisoners have been released by the government, and many corpses have been removed from the streets. Despite these achievements, protests against the President’s regime have grown stronger and snipers continue to take out civilians. The UN believes that more than 5000 people have been killed in Syria since the March crackdown on anti-government protests.

1. The Arab League is an organisation that attempts to settle disputes in the Arab World.
2. The Syrian government released 3500 political prisoners after the monitors arrived.
3. A crackdown on anti-government protests in Syria began last March.