CAIRO: Egypt has decided that it will not pull out its Syrian Ambassador, according to diplomatic sources on Monday, after a non-binding Arab League resolution was passed urging member states to cut diplomatic ties with the Syrian state if the government does not implement a deal set to end violence against protesters. Meanwhile, the Arab League has suspended the participation of Syria from another summit held in Morocco, waiting on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to implement the plan. If the Assad regime does not respond to the plan, international and regional bodies could recognize the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) as the legitimate authority of the Syrian state. Egyptian authorities say that they have urged the Assad government to end their crackdown on protests since the onset of the protests last March. According to United Nations estimates, around 3,500 people have been killed in the Assad government's crackdown on the protests, although human rights groups on the ground in Syria cite higher numbers. Human rights groups say that the killings constitute crimes against humanity. Syrian authorities have blamed protesters for the violence, claiming that 1,100 soldiers and police officers have been killed in the uprisings. Syrian activists have repeatedly called upon the international community to intervene in the violence that has left so many in the nation dead. On Monday, King Abdullah of Jordan came forward was the first Arab leader to call upon Assad to step down. “I believe, if I were in his shoes, I would step down,” Abdullah said. “I would step down and make sure whoever comes behind me has the ability to change the status quo that we're seeing.” BM
