(Image source: Al Jazeera)

BY MALLORY PERRYMAN
 

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

One Arab League observer to Syria has quit-- claiming the mission to find out what’s really going on in the nation’s deadly conflict is a sham.

Here’s what Algerian observer Anwar Malek tells Al Jazeera.

Anwar Malek (Former Arab League Observer): “The mission was a farce and the observers have been fooled. The regime orchestrated it and fabricated most of what we saw...What I saw was a humanitarian disaster.”

But Reuters reports the Arab League denies Malek’s claims-- saying the monitor didn’t even leave his hotel room while he was in Syria.  Add to that-- Algerian officials are also trying to discredit the former observer.

euronews has a statement from the Algerian Foreign Minister.

Reporter quoting Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci: “The Syrian government has taken some steps. Perhaps not enough, but some steps in the sense that there has been a withdrawal of heavy weapons from the cities that are having problems now.”

But according to Malek-- Syrian forces hid their tanks while the observers were around-- then moved them back onto the streets.

So far-- Malek is the only observer to make such claims.

But Voice of America reports-- a human rights leader says 11 more observers plan on leaving the mission soon.

“He said the group of seven Iraqis, two Kuwaitis and two Emiratis had witnessed Syrian security forces firing on opposition activists Tuesday...”

Voice of America adds-- its reporters were unable to verify that more observers were planning to leave. But with one observer already gone-- The Christian Science Monitor says pressure will build for the case to be referred to the UN Security Council.

“[The observers] criticism echoes what Syrian anti-Assad activists and much of the international community have been saying from the outset – that the mission had no power and would only be used by the Assad regime as a cover-up.”

There are now about 165 observers in Syria. The Arab League is supposed to issue a report on its findings on January 19th.