The ministers’ meeting comes as the unrest in Syria is growing worse and on February 10 briefly spilled over into neighboring Lebanon.
On February 11, Syrian state news agencies reported gunmen had assassinated Brigadier General Issa al-Khawli, the first high-ranking military official to be killed in Syria since the protests and violence started last March.
On February 10, 28 people were killed and 235 wounded in two suicide car bombings in Aleppo.
Iraqi Deputy Interior Minister Adnan al-Assadi also warned on February 11 that “jihadists” are moving from his country to Syria to fight against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
A resolution for the UN Security Council to support an Arab League plan calling for Assad to hand over power to his vice president was vetoed by Russia and China on February 4.
Meanwhile, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri is calling on Muslims across the Arab world and beyond to support the rebels in Syria.
In an eight-minute video posted on the Internet, Zawahri urges Muslims in Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan to come to the aid of Syrian rebels.
The Egyptian-born Zawahri also called on Syrians not to rely on the West or Arab governments in their uprising against Assad’s “pernicious, cancerous regime.”
Compiled from agency reports
Source Article from http://www.rferl.org/content/arab_league_syria_violence_int/24481251.html
