At Sunday Arab League meeting, Ben Jassim, Al-Faisal reiterate ostensible opposition to foreign military intervention in Syria, expressing preference for Arab peacekeeping force and eventual regime change Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hammed Ben Jassim and Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal on Sunday slammed Syria's Bashar Al-Assad regime for what they described as "the mad war" and "ethnic cleansing" being waged by the regime against the Syrian people. Speaking at the opening session of a special Arab League meeting on Syria that convened in Cairo, thetwo heavyweight Gulf diplomats also criticised regional and international support – especially on the part of Russia and China – for Damascus, which has been fighting a heavily armed insurgency since March of last year. "The Syrian leadership has decided to go on killing its people and destroying its country in order to stay in power," Al-Faisal said at the meeting. Al-Faisal's assertions come less than two days after Saudi King Abdullah expressed “deep concern” over developments in Syria. Riyadh also recently referred to the UN General Assembly a draft resolution demanding joint Arab League-UN cooperation aimed at protecting Syrian civilians. At Sunday's Arab League meeting, both Al-Faisal and Ben Jassim reiterated their ostensible opposition to foreign military intervention in Syria, expressing a preference for an Arab peacekeeping force and eventual regime change. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and four other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states had earlier proposed an initiative calling for the handover of power from Al-Assad to his vice president, who would then form a coalition government with the opposition, both that based in Syria and that currently in exile. The offer was rejected by Damascus, however, with the backing of Moscow, Beijing and Tehran. The proposal, Arab League sources say, was likely to be included in a resolution adopted by Arab foreign ministers later on Sunday. The resolution is also expected to include tough diplomatic action against the Syrian regime. On Monday, UN Human Rights Commissioner Navy Pillay is expected to address the UN General Assembly on the issue of proposed rescue operations – with the stated aim of helping civilians – both inside Syria and in refugee camps in neighbouring states, including Turkey and Lebanon.
