Arab League officials say a key committee has recommended extending an observer mission in Syria by one month and increasing the number of personnel trying to monitor the Syrian government's deadly crackdown on an opposition uprising.

The officials say the committee of Arab League foreign ministers dealing with the Syrian crisis made the recommendation in Cairo Sunday, ahead of a full meeting of foreign ministers of the 22-member bloc later in the day. The ministers were expected to approve the request to give the 165-strong observer team more time and more resources.

Prominent Syrian opposition group the Syrian National Council has been lobbying the Arab League to abandon the observer mission and refer the Syrian crisis to the U.N. Security Council. Opposition activists accuse the Syrian government of deceiving the monitors and using them as a cover to intensify military operations against anti-government protesters and rebels.

British-based rights activist Rami Abdul-Rahman says forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fought with rebels in the Damascus suburb of Douma late Saturday. He says the fighting started when security forces fired on a funeral procession, killing four people. Douma has been a frequent center of unrest during the 10-month long uprising against Mr. Assad's 11-year autocratic rule.

Syria's government accuses “armed terrorists” of driving the revolt. In a report Sunday, Syrian state news agency SANA says terrorists shot and killed a brigadier general and another senior officer as the two men drove to work in the Damascus countryside. It says two other security personnel were buried Sunday after being attacked in the Damascus countryside and the central region of Homs.

The United Nations says violence linked to the uprising has killed more than 5,400 people. Syria says terrorists have killed about 2,000 security force members since the unrest began.