Syria crisis: Arab call to work with the west for diplomatic solution | World news | The Guardian

Syria crisis: Arab call to work with the west for diplomatic solution | World news | The Guardian

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"Everything must be done to stop the ongoing bloodshed in Syria," the league's secretary general, Nabil al-Arabi, told reporters. Arabi is to meet a broad range of opposition groups in Cairo on Sunday.

A joint session of Arab ministers and their Turkish colleague, Ahmet Davutoglu, said emphatically: "The ministers stressed the importance of the stability and unity of Syria and the need for the resolution of the crisis without any foreign intervention."

Davutoglu warned: "The regime should meet the demands of its people. The collective massacres in Syria and the bloodshed cannot continue like this."

Diplomats said the key issue was to draw up a plan for a military and civilian Arab League mission to Syria – the only way of getting observers on the ground amidst concerns about the need to protect civilians. Crucial details need to be accepted by Syria. Arabi said that no observers would be sent without clear agreement from Damascus.

The latest, apparently co-ordinated assaults on the embassies of Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates seemed to suggest that co-operation is unlikely to be forthcoming.

Syria had said on Sunday – seeking to head off its suspension from the Arab League – that it would welcome an "Arab ministerial delegation accompanied by observers, civilian and military experts and Arab media".

The league was also expected to discuss referring Syria to the UN human rights council because that is easier than approaching the security council, where any condemnation of Damascus faces veto by Russia and China. Beijing, however, has supported the Arab League, while Moscow has flatly condemned it.

Iran also made clear it was backing Syria, its only Arab ally. Ali Akbar Salehi, its foreign minister, criticised the Arab League for its "haste" in suspending Syria.

Analysts and diplomats described the Harasta attack as a possible turning-point that could help forge closer links between exiled and internal opposition groups.

Analyst David Hartwell of the IHS consultancy in London said: "It is doubtful that even regime loyalists now accept – if they ever did – the government's line that the uprising is the work of 'armed criminal gangs' and attention will increasingly focus on the tide of public opinion in Damascus and Aleppo, Syria's two largest cities, which have so far remained largely peaceful.

"Overt, large-scale displays of dissent in either city would mark the next significant escalation of the uprising against Assad."

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