CAIRO – The head of the Arab League has said the Syrian government of President Bashar Al-Assad cannot last for long, saying its days were numbered in an interview published in the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat Tuesday. Speaking after an Arab League meeting which called on Assad to step down, Secretary General Nabil Al-Araby also said the time for talking about political reform was over. “There is now no talk about political reform, but a transfer of power,” he said. Arab League ministers who convened in Doha on Sunday called on Assad to relinquish power, adding that the Arab League would help to provide a safe exit for him and his family. Asked how long the Assad administration could survive, Elaraby told al-Hayat: “I cannot define a period, but the regime cannot continue for a long time.” As required by the Arab League resolutions adopted on Sunday, Elaraby said he would soon travel to China and Russia with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani, who chairs the Arab League committee on Syria. China and Russia have used their veto power in the UN Security Council three times to block resolutions designed to pressure Assad and halt the conflict in Syria. “Our message to the Russians will be, with clarity and frankness, that the veto decision they took is viewed as being against Arab interests. We hope for a review of the matter, especially given that they know that the days of the current regime in Syria are numbered,” he said. Elaraby also urged the Syrian opposition to unite and form a transitional government. Assad appoints new security officials A Syrian government official says Assad has named five officials to top security posts in a reshuffle of the regime's inner circle. One of Tuesday's appointments replaces Assad's national security chief, who died last week after being wounded in a rebel bombing that also killed three other officials. The new appointees are known regime figures, making it unlikely that the reshuffle will alter the government's efforts to defeat anti-Assad rebels. Rebel groups are battling the government across Syria as the country's 16-month crisis grows increasingly violent and chaotic. Last week's bomb attack struck a sharp blow to the regime's top brass, though government troops have now largely routed rebel forces fighting in the capital. – Agencies
