Kuwait's Al Rai daily news has received information from senior European sources claiming Arab States backed by U.S. military logistics support are set to impose a no-fly zone over Syria once the Arab League issues a decree in their charter calling for the protection of Syrian civilians.
The no-fly zone would include a ban on the movement of all Syrian military vehicles including tanks and artillery in an attempt to cripple the regimes movement and ability to attack cities in the area. In a recent interview, former French air force chief Jean Rannou said "Nato member countries would begin by using satellite technology to spot Syrian air defences. A few days later, warplanes in larger numbers than Libya would take off from the UK base in Cyprus and spend some 48 hours destroying Syrian surface-to-air missiles and jets. Alliance aircraft would then start an open-ended bombardment of Syrian tanks and ground troops." He also claimed the Syrian air force would pose minimal risk to the operation.
On Thursday, Arab foreign ministers pressured Syria, telling them to admit international monitors into the country within 24 hours, withdraw government tanks from the streets, release political prisoners and end all attacks on civilians or face economic sanctions. The same day new clashes between army troops and defectors left 29 dead.
