Lebanon formally announced it will not send observers to Syria as part of an Arab League mission in order to avoid "negative repercussions" in Lebanon of the Syrian crisis.

Lebanon formally announced it will not send observers to Syria as part of an Arab League mission in order to avoid "negative repercussions" in Lebanon of the Syrian crisis.

"Following consultations between President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the decision was made that Lebanon will not participate in the mission," a government official told media sources on Tuesday.

He said Suleiman and Mikati had jointly decided not to send 10 Lebanese observers to Syria as part of the Arab League team; a move aimed "dissociating" Lebanon from the crisis in Syria.

"Lebanon does not want to isolate itself from other Arab League members or the international community, but at the same time we are trying to avoid allowing the Syria crisis to have negative repercussions on Lebanon," the official added.

In November, Lebanon voted against suspending Syria's membership in the 22-state Arab League and opposed the group's decision to impose unprecedented sanctions on Damascus.

The Arab League mission kicked off its Syria tour Tuesday in the protest hub of Homs following reports that 34 people had been killed in 24 hours in and around one of the main hubs of nine months of protest.

The mission is part of an Arab plan endorsed by Syria on November 2 that calls for the withdrawal of security forces from towns, a halt to violence and the release of detainees.