11 Syrian troops killed in clashes with deserters

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NICOSIA, Jan 8, (agencies): Heavy clashes broke out before dawn Sunday between the Syrian army and deserters, leaving 11 of its soldiers dead, human rights activists said.
Another 20 soldiers were wounded in the fighting in Daraa province, south of the capital, while nine soldiers defected to join the rebel troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
In addition to the deadly clashes in the village of Basr al-Harir, the Britain-based watchdog also reported heavy machinegun exchanges between the army and deserters in the Daraa town of Dael. There was no immediate word on any casualties.
Meanwhile: Arab foreign ministers gathered Sunday to review the record of a widely criticised observer mission to Syria, amid growing calls for the bloc to cede to the United Nations the lead role in trying to end nearly 10 months of bloodshed.
The ministerial committee on Syria was to meet in Cairo, where the Arab League has its headquarters, to be briefed by the head of the mission, General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi.
A team of Arab League monitors has been in Syria since December 26, trying to assess whether President Bashar al-Assad's regime is complying with a peace accord aimed at ending its deadly crackdown on dissent.
But critics say it has been completely outmanoeuvred by the government and failed to make any progress towards stemming the crackdown, with calls for the mission to pull out.