Arabs freeze Syria mission

Beirut: Amid rising death toll and raging fighting outside three suburbs of Damascus, the Arab League yesterday halted its observer mission, sharply criticising the regime of President Bashar Al Assad for escalating violence that has killed at least 193 since Tuesday.

In Istanbul, Gulf states and Turkey urged Syria to accept an Arab League plan to stop the bloodshed "without delay." The meeting said no significant progress was made on the League peace plan "mostly due to the intransigent attitude displayed by the Syrian administration."

League chief Nabeel Al Arabi said the organisation decided to halt the observers' work until the League's council can meet to decide the mission's fate. He blamed Damascus for the spike in bloodshed, saying the regime has "resorted to escalating the military option in complete violation of [its] commitments" to end the crackdown, Al Arabi said. He said the victims of the violence have been "innocent citizens," in an implicit rejection of Syria's claims that it is fighting "terrorists."

Al Arabi and Qatar Premier Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Al Thani were set to leave for New York today to seek UN support for the latest Arab plan. The Syrian National Council meanwhile, urged Syria's diaspora to protest outside Russian embassies today against Moscow's opposition to a draft resolution on Syria at the UN Security Council.