The head of the Arab League warned Friday that Syria may be sliding toward civil war, as the violence continued to rage around the country.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby told The Associated Press that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime was either not complying or only partially complying with an Arab League plan that Syria signed last month to end its crackdown on anti-regime protesters.

“We are very concerned because there were certain commitments that were not complied with,” he told AP. “If this continues, it may turn into civil war.”

Meanwhile, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AP that more than 20,000 people demonstrated on Friday in the northwestern province of Idlib. Security forces fired on protesters there as well as in the southern province of Daraa, the eastern region of Deir el-Zour and the central province of Homs, the group said.

At least 10 people were killed, according to the Observatory.

On Thursday it was reported that the Arab League is rethinking its observer mission in Syria, and may decide to pull its monitors from the country altogether.

An attack on observers Monday in the city of Latakiya made it increasingly unlikely the League would send any more monitors to the country, sources said, “until the situation is suitable” for them to return.

Elaraby said on Thursday the United Nations Security Council will eventually intervene in Syria with or without the Arab League, given the reports coming out of the country. However, the Arab League has not yet reached the conclusion that it is time to call in the UN.

A French reporter was killed in a rocket attack this week, just hours after President Bashar al-Assad vowed to defeat the “conspiracy” against his regime.