Holding an election in Syria while civil war rages will only obstruct international efforts to resolve the conflict, the head of the Arab League said on Tuesday. President Bashar al-Assad's government an**unced on Monday that a presidential election would take place on June 3 - an event that is certain to extend his grip on power. "This step could suspend the desired efforts of maturing negotiations for a political solution to the Syrian crisis," Nabil el-Araby, the head of the Cairo-based Arab League, said in a statement.