Saudi Arabia has backed the arming of Syria's opposition guerrilla army in remarks that could signal an intervention by the Sunni Muslim superpower in the Assad regime's crackdown on an anti-government uprising.
The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, described the arming of the Free Syrian Army as an "excellent idea" at an inaugural meeting in Tunisia of an anti-Assad group the Friends of Syria, convened to find a solution to the crisis ravaging the country.
But the Saudi delegation later walked out of the summit citing "inactivity" among the member states gathered.
Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, called for the creation of an Arab force to "open humanitarian corridors to provide security to the Syrian people".
In the Syrian city of Homs, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had begun to evacuate women and children from the Baba Amr district, where western journalists including the injured Le Figaro reporter Edith Bouvier and the Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy had become stranded. » | Martin Chulov and Matthew Weaver | Friday, February 24, 2012
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Syrien – Streit in Tunis über Intervention: Ein arabische Friedenstruppe? Ein Ultimatum an Assad? Sein Abtritt und Exil in Russland? Die Bewaffnung der Opposition? Die Syrien-Kontaktgruppe diskutiert in Tunis zahlreiche Vorschläge - eine Einigung ist nicht in Sicht. » | Von Andreas Ross und Rainer Hermann | Freiteg, 24. Februar 2012
