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| Arab League sanctions for Syria | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Arab League has voted to suspend Syria from its meetings and impose sanctions against Damascus over its failure to end a government crackdown on protesters. | |
| It asked member states to withdraw their ambassadors, and urged Damascus to end violence against protesters. | |
| The vote came after Syria ignored an Arab League proposal envisaging the start of dialogue with the opposition. | |
| But Syria's representative said the decision violated the league's charter. | |
| Youssef Ahmed told Syrian state TV said it showed the league was "serving a Western and American agenda". | |
| The Arab League proposals - accepted by the government of President Bashar al-Assad - include the release of prisoners, the withdrawal of security forces from the streets and talks between the government and opposition. | The Arab League proposals - accepted by the government of President Bashar al-Assad - include the release of prisoners, the withdrawal of security forces from the streets and talks between the government and opposition. |
| But the violence has continued, with the city of Homs bearing the brunt, say human rights activists. | But the violence has continued, with the city of Homs bearing the brunt, say human rights activists. |
| US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2011/11/11/we-live-war" > issued a report this week documenting allegations of torture and unlawful killings in the city, and called on the Arab League to step up pressure on Damascus. | |
| The Arab League has taken tougher action against Syria than anyone expected. The moves will dramatically increase the isolation of President Assad's government. | |
| The League has even threatened to refer the issue to the United Nations. And opposition groups are being invited to Arab League Headquarters so they can agree on a unified position. | |
| Syria immediately reacted furiously. The measures will be a damaging wound to the pride of a country proud of its Arab identity. | |
| President Assad has sought to put down the protests since March. The UN says more than 3,500 people have died in the protests so far. | |
| 'Concern for Syria' | |
| Eighteen Arab League member states voted at the Cairo meeting to suspend Syria, with Syria, Lebanon and Yemen voting against and Iraq abstaining. | |
| The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says the decision is the most that anyone could have realistically expected from the Arab League. | |
| It is a huge blow to Syria's pride, and could also be a real practical blow to its leaders, our correspondent adds. | |
| But opposition groups are already calling for more action, he says, including a no-fly zone. | |
| Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim said the suspension would take effect on Wednesday, adding that talks would be held with Syrian opposition groups in three days' time. | |
| "We were criticised for taking a long time but this was out of our concern for Syria," he said, quoted by Reuters news agency. | |
| "We needed to have a majority to approve those decisions. | |
| "We are calling all Syrian opposition parties to a meeting at the Arab League headquarters to agree a unified vision for the transitional period." | |
| 'Not Libya' | |
| Mr Jassim said that if the violence and killing did not stop, the Arab League would contact human rights organisations and the UN and "set a vision for the appropriate measures to stop that bloodshed". | |
| This vision would be submitted to another league meeting on 16 November, he added. | |
| The Arab League's condemnation of violence by Col Muammar Gaddafi's government in Libya and call for a no-fly zone paved the way for a UN Security Council resolution protecting civilians and a Nato-led mission there. | |
| But Mr Jassim denied that Saturday's decision would lead to international intervention in Syria. | |
| "No-one is talking about a no-fly zone, people are trying to mix up the cases. None of us is talking about this kind of decision," he said. | |
| Violence continued in Syria on Friday with 13 people killed, most of them in the city of Homs. | |
| There were also reports of violence and mass arrests in the capital, Damascus. | |
| Mass street protests after Friday prayers, followed by brutal crackdowns by security forces have become a weekly feature of Syria's uprising. | |
| President Assad's government insists it is battling armed gangs and militants and says hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed. | |
| The government has restricted foreign journalists from entering the country, making it difficult to confirm events on the ground. |