Damascus , Syria ( CNN ) -- A former member of the Arab League monitoring team in Syria said he resigned from the mission because it is `` providing the regime cover for more killing '' and `` shameful '' brutality . `` I quit because I found myself serving the regime and not part of an independent monitoring body , '' Anwar Malek , an Algerian , told Al-Jazeera in an interview Wednesday . His remarks were translated by CNN . `` I am unable to stop the killing . '' The Arab League embarked on a fact-finding mission in Syria in December , part of an initiative to end the bloody 10-month-long crackdown by President Bashar al-Assad 's government against peaceful protesters . The League wants the government to stop violence against civilians , free political detainees , remove tanks and weapons from cities and allow outsiders , including the international news media , to travel freely around Syria . The purpose of the mission is to see how the government is adhering to the plan . The Arab League confirmed to CNN that Malek was part of the observer team . Mahmoud Nasser , an Arab League official in Cairo , told CNN that Malek had been sick during his stint and attended only a limited number of field visits . He `` had requested to fly to Paris for medical treatment during the mission . He has excused himself from the mission , '' Nasser said . Malek 's comments reflect the position of opposition activists , who regularly report government brutality and document casualties . `` It 's practicing the same activities more blatantly , '' Malek said of the Syrian government . `` It 's even killing its supporters to convince the Arab monitors that the regime is just doing their job to provide security and to gain sympathy . I felt like I myself would become a government thug , that 's why I 've quit . '' Asked what he witnessed and what led to his resignation , Malek described grisly scenes in Homs , the restive city that has been an epicenter of anti-Assad sentiment . `` Most importantly , the human feeling that I lived over 15 days in Homs ; I was in Baba Amr , Khalidya , Bab Sbaa , Sultaniya . I 've been to all these areas , I 've seen shameful scenes , burnt bodies that had undergone torture , skinned bodies , children murdered , and every now and then we would see someone shot by a sniper . I 've seen all of that with my own eyes . I just can not give up my humanity in the face of that or pretend to be independent or neutral when faced with it , '' he added . Malek said he viewed detention facilities and `` found people in a definitely deplorable and tragic state . '' `` People are undergoing systematic torture and starvation , where they are only given one snack a day , although those who underwent severe conditions were secretly transported to other areas , such as military zones or facilities that we know nothing about . '' He also claimed that there were `` soldiers and maybe intelligence officers that were presented to us as being prisoners . '' Asked how he would know that , Malek said he has `` some experience with prisons . '' `` When someone lives in such a place , his odor would be similar to that of the jail cell . Some of those people smelled like women 's perfume . Where did that come from ? '' Malek was also asked about remarks from the head of the monitors , who had said the situation is n't as bad as Malek said it is . Sudanese Lt. Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Mustapha al-Dabi is heading the observation mission . `` I believe that the head of the monitors wants to hold the stick from the middle , in order not to upset the authority or any other party . He picks his words so not to upset anybody . He always discourages us from speaking to the media so as not to say something that would upset a certain party and hence hinder our work . But the situation is tragic and Baba Amr and all other areas in Homs that I 've been to for a while can only be described as an absolute disaster zone . Houses are destroyed after being bombarded by heavy weapons , all signs show that heavy weapons are still there , '' Malek said . Journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy contributed to this report .
NEW : An Arab League official said Malek had health issues during his stint . Malek said he saw 'shameful scenes ' in Homs . Prisoners were in 'deplorable ' states , Malek said .