Middle East, Syrian Uprising | featured news

"They're asking for RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) in al Bayadah," said the young fighter, naming another district in Homs. "Assad's armoured vehicles are coming and they have nothing to stop them." "Give them five or six of ours. God willing we will find some more," replied the man in charge, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

An Arab League committee has given Syria 24 hours to agree to allow an observer mission into the country or it could face sanctions. Thursday’s threat comes as international pressure mounts on President Bashar Assad to stop the brutal crackdown on an uprising against his regime. The U.N. says 3,500 people have been killed in the crackdown since March.

Syrian troops stormed a central town and a northwestern region in search of opponents of the government, activists said.

Arab League foreign ministers on Wednesday gave Syria's government three days to agree to end its crackdown on protesters and allow in teams of observers, but did not say what would happen if Damascus failed to comply.

Turkey threatened to cut off supplies of electricity to its neighbor Syria on Tuesday, as the Damascus regime found itself under growing pressure from Arab, Turkish, European and North American governments for its ongoing lethal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.

Jordan's King Abdullah said Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad should step down, making him the first Arab ruler to issue such a call over the regime's deadly crackdown on an 8-month-old uprising.

The Arab League announced Saturday that it is suspending Syria's membership after its failure to stop the violence against its people.

Syrians in the restive region of Homs performed special prayers for a major Muslim holiday to the sound of explosions and gunfire as government troops pushed forward their assault on the area, killing at least 11 people Sunday, residents and activists said.

Syrian state television said on Tuesday a final agreement had been reached between Syrian authorities and an Arab League committee tasked with finding a solution to end seven months of unrest.

Syrians aiming to write a new constitution for the strife-torn country will meet for the first time on Monday, the state news agency reported Sunday, after a weekend of intense violence.