Arab League observers see spike in Syrian violence

CAIRO — The head of the Arab League observers in Syria says violence in the country has spiked over the past four days.

Sudanese Gen. Mohammed Ahmed al-Dabi said in a statement Friday that three Syrian cities — Homs, Hama and Idlib — have witnessed a “very high escalation” of violence since Tuesday.

The head of the League’s operations room for the mission, Adnan al-Khudeir, said 30 additional observers will be sent to Syria next week to bolster the mission.

The observers are in Syria to monitor a League plan to end the country’s 10-month-old crisis.

The mission has been widely criticized for failing to stop the violence.