Syrian man threatens to blow up the Arab League

Egyptian authorities arrested late on Monday a Syrian man who threatened to blow up the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo after he learned that his parents had been killed in Syria during a battle between the rebels and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, Egyptian news agency MENA reported.

At least 62 people were killed in an assault on the suburbs of Damascus on Monday, according to opposition activists, as the anti-Assad uprising is about to enter its 18th month in September. The United Nations says more than 18,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict in March of last year.

MENA did not name the Syrian man and said that the incident started when the head of Cairo’s security received a complaint from the League’s security department about a man threatening to blow up the League

The agency said the man stopped his car near the League’s building and said he had planted explosive devices in the car, warning “he would blow up the Arab League’s building if the League did not come up with a decision against the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.”

The pan-Arab body had repeatedly condemned the violence practiced by Assad’s troops against the protesters and had recently called on Assad to step down.

The League had also taken the Syrian file to the United Nations asking its security council to take stricter actions against Assad but the call was blocked by Russia and China, two strong Assad allies.

The Egyptian authorities did not find any explosives in the Syrian man’s car when they inspected it, according to MENA, which said the man was sent to a general prosecution for further investigations.

Reuters