Protests by Syrians in Cairo and Egyptians against Bashar al-Assad (photo: lokha)

Earlier in the week, Syria agreed to allow Arab League monitors into the country to observe the pullback of security forces from residential areas throughout the country. But they aren’t due to enter the country for a few days. In the meantime, Syrian security forces are wiping out the opposition:

Syrian rights activists and opposition groups said on Wednesday that forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad had killed more than 100 defecting soldiers, civilians and antigovernment activists over the last three days in northwestern Syria. If confirmed, the killings would constitute one of the worst spasms of violence in the nine–month-old uprising.

Word of the killings, which the activists and opposition groups said had taken place near the city of Idlib near the Turkish border, was reported a day before observers from the Arab League are to visit Syria for the first time to monitor pledges by Mr. Assad’s government to withdraw its troops from besieged areas.

The Syrian government has not responded to reports of the killings, and it was impossible to corroborate them independently because of restrictions on foreign press access in the country, where, according to a United Nations estimate, more than 5,000 people have been killed since March. But in a statement, the secretary general of the Arab League, Nabil al-Araby, suggested the latest reports were credible by expressing concern about them and urging the Syrian government to “protect civilians.”

The Obama Administration responded to this with a statement reiterating their belief that Bashar al-Assad must step down. They called the report of violence “credible,” and said that “the overwhelming majority of the violence and loss of life in Syria stems from the actions of the Assad regime, and we call on all parties to put an end to violence.”

Previously, Syria agreed in principle to the Arab League deal, and then went about murdering protesters in some of the more contested areas of the country. Now, just before letting observers in, they decide to kill off as many protesters as they can. This has led to the stirrings of a backlash among the Syrian people, many of whom have taken up arms against their oppressors. But the violence remains one-sided at this point.

The problem is that the Arab League really is driving the boat for the international community. The White House promised “additional steps” if the Arab League conditions were not met, but it’s not clear how much import those steps would carry. Syria is already isolated, and the Arab League seems to be the major factor on any interventionist action. But this flaunting of their observer mission just as it begins may cause a spark among the Arab League to force further action through.