Arab League (AL) chief Nabil al-Arabi (front R) speaks to Head of the AL observer mission in Syria Sudanese Moustafa Mohammed Ahmed al-Dabi prior to the meeting in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 8, 2012. (Xinhua/Qin Haishi)

Though the Arab League decided here Sunday to continue its observer mission in Syria, analysts believe the observers face a daunting task and need to make a major breakthrough in order to accomplish their mediation goals.

Mostapha Abdullah, a commentator on Syrian issues, said the Arab League needs to improve the mission's operating mechanism. If the pan-Arab group can't coerce the Syrian government to perform all of the items in the protocol that Damascus signed in December, its months-long meditation effort will be doomed to fail, he said.

The protocol is aimed at ending the nearly 10 months of violence and bloodshed in Syria.

Khalid Gelani, deputy editor-in-chief of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, agreed that the most important thing for the 156 observers to do now is to drop the government employees who accompany them on their inspections. That action, Gelani said, is needed if the observers want to make major breakthroughs and find out the true situation in the country.

Gelani complained that the observers ride in cars provided by the Syrian government and follow routes as instructed by Syrian security and intelligent personnel.

"They could't walk freely and were surrounded by Syrian government employees wherever they go," Gelani said.

The editor also accused Syrian authorities of keeping prisoners in unknown places and hiding weapons and armored vehicles inside government buildings during observer inspections.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who chaired a ministerial meeting in Cairo on Sunday, said that the Arab League will convene two meetings on Jan. 19-20 to discuss a detailed report written by Moustafa Mohammed Ahmed al-Dabi, the head of the Arab League observers mission in Syria.