There is no suggestion from the Syrian government side that the observer mission should be ended The mandate of the Arab League observer mission in Syria is due to expire, a month after it arrived to verify the implementation of a peace initiative.
The head of the mission is finalising a report on the ongoing violence, which will be discussed at a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers on Saturday.Syrian's government is reportedly keen for the monitors to stay, but the opposition wants the UN to intervene.
Activists said 21 people were killed on Wednesday, most of them in Homs.
On Thursday, a senior opposition leader in contact with residents in the town of Zabadani said dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles had pulled back, two days after the army allegedly agreed a ceasefire with rebels.
Kamal al-Labwani told the Reuters news agency that food and basic supplies had also started reaching the town, 30km (20 miles) north-west of Damascus and close to the border with Lebanon.
There were reports on Wednesday of renewed army shelling.
Critics say the observer mission has failed to halt the government crackdown on dissent The UN Security Council was told earlier this month that 400 people had been killed during the monitors' first 10 days in the country. The UN had previously said that more than 5,000 people had died since March.
Although the initial mandate of the observer mission comes to an end on Thursday, the agreement covering it provides for an extension for a second month if both sides agree.
The BBC's Jim Muir, in neighbouring Lebanon, says there is no suggestion from the Syrian government side that it should be ended.
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Syria deaths
- More than 5,000 civilians killed since March, says the UN
- More than 400 killed since start of Arab League mission on 26 December
- UN denied access to Syria
- Information gathered from NGOs, sources in Syria and Syrians who have fled
- Vast majority of casualties were unarmed, but the figure may include armed defectors
- Tally does not include serving members of the security forces
So the decision is up to the Arab League foreign ministers, who will meet in Cairo on Saturday, our correspondent adds.
They will be considering a report from the head of the observer mission, Sudanese Gen Mustafa al-Dabi - a controversial figure who has been accused of carrying out human rights violations in his own country - which will draw conclusions on its findings since it began work on the ground. The ministers may also discuss informally a proposal from the emir of Qatar for Arab troops to be sent to Syria "to stop the killing".
The Syrian government has angrily rejected the idea, and warned it would "worsen the crisis... and pave the way for foreign intervention".
Our correspondent says the Arab League is divided, and it is unlikely that there will be much support for such a move at this stage.
'Security improved' The UN Security Council is also divided.
On Wednesday, Russia's foreign minister said it would block any attempt by the West to secure a resolution supporting sanctions against Syria or make any move that might lead to military intervention.
A ceasefire has allegedly been agreed between the army and rebel fighters in Zabadani "But let them do it at their own initiative on their own conscience. They won't get any authorisation from the UN Security Council.''
China, which joined Russia in October in vetoing a draft resolution condemning the attacks on protesters, meanwhile defended the observer mission, saying "the security situation of major areas has improved".
"The Chinese side calls on all parties in Syria to fully co-operate with the Arab league in its mediation efforts. The Chinese side supports the settlement of the Syrian issue within the framework of the Arab league," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin a news conference in Beijing.
But the European Union is preparing to tighten its own measures against Syria on Monday, by imposing restrictions on more prominent Syrian individuals and companies associated with the government.
The UK's Prime Minister, David Cameron, has promised it will "lead the way" in tightening sanctions, and accused Iran and its allies in Lebanon's Hezbollah movement of helping the Syrian government.
He told parliament on Wednesday that evidence had emerged that Tehran was supplying arms to the Syrian security forces, saying Turkey had intercepted some "particularly interesting" shipments.
"People should also know that Hezbollah is an organisation standing up and supporting this wretched tyrant who is killing so many of his own people," he added, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
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