Syrian army should outside cities: Elaraby

CAIRO: Syria military has withdrawn from residential areas and is on the outskirts of the country's cities, but gunfire continues and snipers are still a threat, the Arab League's Secretary General Nabil Elbaraby said on Monday.

The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been killed in a crackdown on protests which broke out against President Bashar al-Assad in March.

Elaraby was speaking in Cairo as Arab League monitors gathered in Syria to check compliance with a peace plan. He said the League would report on the work of the monitors over the first week and decide if more were needed there.