Meeting in Cairo, Arab League ministers also gave their full backing to the opposition trying to overthrow Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and urged the Syrian opposition to unite.
Ministers also scrapped an Arab League monitoring mission.
Syria called the Arab League action a “hostile act that targets Syria’s security and stability.”
Earlier, Tunisia announced it will host on February 24 the first meeting of the Friends of Syria contact group, including Arab and other states.
At the UN, diplomats say Saudi Arabia has circulated a text on Syria at the General Assembly.
It is said to be similar to the resolution vetoed by Russia and China, which gave backing to an Arab League plan calling for Assad to hand power to a deputy as part of a democratic transition.
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri urged Syrians not to rely on the West or Arab governments in their uprising.
In a video posted to the Internet, Zawahri described Assad as a butcher and urged Muslims in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan to come to the aid of the rebels.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Red Crescent has delivered supplies to the besieged city of Homs, where sporadic fighting was reported on February 12.
In Aleppo, funerals were held for some of the victims of the bombings there on military and security buildings on February 10.
Speaking at one of the funerals, the mufti of Syria, Ahmed Badr al-Din Hassoun, appealed to the opposition to end its campaign, asking, “Why, brothers in the opposition, do you want to burn down your country?”
He also urged Assad to stamp out corruption.
Compiled from agency reports
Source Article from http://www.rferl.org/content/syria_arab_league_int/24482058.html
