Syria still open to Arab lerague\'s observer plan Syria says it is still negotiating with the Arab League over the bloc\'s request to send observers into the country, as tightening sanctions by Arab and other nations have failed to halt the eight-month crackdown on anti-government protesters.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman suggested some headway had been made, but there was no official announcement on Sunday whether Syria would sign the agreement.
New violence led to at least nine people killed on Sunday, including a female university professor and a father and his three children in central Syria, opposition activists said.
The Local Coordination Committees activist network put the death toll from violence Sunday at 22, but the number could not be immediately confirmed by other activist groups.  
Arab leaders had given Syria a new deadline of Sunday to respond to the League\'s peace plan, which calls for the admission of observers to ensure compliance with a government cease-fire.
They also held out the threat of pushing for UN involvement if Damascus balks. Syria\'s failure to meet a Nov. 25 deadline to allow in observers drew Arab League sanctions, including a ban on dealings with the country\'s central bank.
Together with sanctions from the United States, the European Union and Turkey, the Arab League\'s penalties are expected to deal a significant blow to Syria\'s economy and may undercut the regime\'s authority.
The revolt against President Bashar Al Assad\'s rule began with peaceful protests in mid-March, triggering a brutal crackdown.
The unrest has steadily become bloodier as army defectors join the revolt and some civilians take up arms, prompting the United Nations\' human rights chief to refer to it last week as a civil war and urge the international community to protect Syrian civilians.
The UN estimates more than 4,000 people have been killed since the unrest started. Some areas of central Syria, particularly Homs where most of Sunday\'s deaths occurred, have already been witnessing tit-for-tat sectarian attacks, mostly between majority Sunnis and Alawites from Assad\'s minority religious sect