The United Nations secretary general has warned that the danger of civil war in Syria is imminent, with “catastrophic” consequences for the region.

The UN's top human rights official said today that there should be no amnesty for serious crimes committed in Syria, even if the threat of prosecution might motivate members of the regime to cling to power at all costs.

Facing mounting international outrage over the killing of at least 109 people in the restive town of Houla, Syria yesterday accused rebels of carrying out the massacre, in which dozens of children were murdered.

Arab leaders dropped a demand that Bashar al-Assad give up the presidency of Syria but urged him to act quickly on a UN-backed peace plan he has accepted, as fighting between Syrian troops and rebels killed at least another 22 people.

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has been appointed the joint United Nations-Arab League envoy on the Syrian crisis with a mandate to bring an end to the violence and promote a peaceful political solution.

As tensions mounted further in Syria, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby last night appointed Kofi Annan, Ban's predecessor as joint special envoy on the Syrian crisis.

China said today that an envoy has held talks with the head of the Arab League on the crisis in Syria.

The Arab League will call on the UN Security Council to pass a resolution creating a joint peacekeeping force for Syria.

Arab League officials say the 22-member group is considering reviving its suspended observer mission in Syria, expanding it to include monitors from non-Arab, Muslim nations and maybe involvement by the United Nations.

The US closed its Syrian embassy and Britain recalled its ambassador to Damascus in a dramatic escalation of Western pressure on President Bashar Assad to give up power, just days after diplomatic efforts at the United Nations to end the crisis collapsed.

Western and Arab countries responded with outrage yesterday after Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have backed an Arab plan urging Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to give up power.

Syrian government forces reasserted control of Damascus suburbs yesterday after beating back rebels, ahead of a push at the UN for a resolution calling for President Bashar al-Assad to give up powers.

Western and Arab diplomats have launched a major offensive at the UN in the hope of overcoming Russia’s opposition to a draft resolution demanding that Syrian President Bashar Assad relinquish power.

Syrian soldiers killed 19 people in fighting to retake Damascus suburbs from rebels, activists said, a day after the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of mounting violence.

The head of the UN Ban Ki-moon has called directly on the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to halt the on-going bloodshed in the country.

The Arab League has halted its observer mission in Syria because of the increasing violence, the deputy chief of the pan-Arab body said.

Gulf Arab states withdrew their observers from Syria after it rejected an Arab League peace plan stipulating that President Bashar al-Assad surrender power, and the group’s chief called for UN help in ending Syria’s bloody upheaval.

The EU has thrown its weight behind an Arab League plan for a transitional government in Syria leading to elections, an attempt to end the violent repression by the regime of President Bashar Assad.

The head of the Arab League warned today that Syria may be sliding toward civil war, as security forces fired on thousands of people who poured into the streets in support of army defectors.

The Arab League has demanded that the Syrian government immediately stop all violence and allow more monitors in, as activists reported at least 10 more civilians, including two teenagers, were killed by regime forces.

AN activist group has accused the Syrian regime of torturing hundreds of people to death in overcrowded prisons, jails and illegal detention centres across the country since an uprising began in March.

Syria’s regime has withdrawn heavy weapons from cities and freed about 3,500 prisoners but protesters are still being shot, the chief of the Arab League has said.

AN Arab League advisory body called yesterday for the immediate withdrawal of the organisation’s monitoring mission in Syria, saying it was allowing Damascus to cover up continued violence and abuses.

Syria's two largest opposition groups have signed an agreement on setting up a democracy after President Bashar Assad's regime falls, opposition figures said today.

Britain today condemned continued violence in Syria despite the presence of Arab League observers and called for an immediate end to state repression of protests.

SYRIAN forces killed 111 people ahead of the start of a mission to monitor President Bashar al-Assad’s implementation of an Arab League peace plan, activists claimed.

Syrian president Bashar Assad has issued a new law under which anyone found guilty of distributing weapons for “terrorist acts” would be sentenced to death, a state-run news agency has said.

THE Arab League yesterday overwhelmingly approved sanctions against Syria to pressure Damascus to end its eight-month crackdown on dissent, an unprecedented move by the League against an Arab state.

The Arab League today overwhelmingly approved sanctions against Syria to pressure Damascus to end its deadly eight-month crackdown on dissent, an unprecedented move by the League against an Arab state.

The Syrian military vowed today to “cut every evil hand that targets Syrian blood”, as it missed an Arab League deadline to allow observers in or face economic sanctions.

Syria has agreed “in principle” to allow an observer mission into the country, a senior official in Damascus said today, as fresh anti-government protests erupted and France called for the UN to act against President Bashar Assad.

SYRIA incurred more EU sanctions and criticism from Turkey and Jordan yesterday after a surprise Arab League decision to suspend it for failing to halt months of violence aimed at crushing opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.

TENS of thousands of Syrian government supporters poured into the streets to protest an Arab League vote to suspend the country’s membership, as Turkey sent planes to evacuate diplomatic staff and their families after a night of attacks on embassies.

Tens of thousands of Syrian government supporters poured into the streets today to protest against an Arab League vote to suspend the country’s membership, as Turkey sent planes to evacuate diplomatic staff and their families after a night of attacks on embassies.

Violence has erupted in the restive Syrian city of Homs, killing at least five people as tank shells slammed into an area that has turned into one of the main centres of both protest and reprisal during the seven-month uprising, activists said.

SYRIAN security forces killed 10 people in Homs yesterday, activists said, and there was no sign yet of troops leaving cities under an Arab League agreement to end bloodshed after seven months of protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria saw a wave of violence and arrests today as the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross visited Damascus to address issues including caring for the wounded and access to detainees during the government’s crackdown on a five-month-old uprising.

Egypt will open its only crossing with the Gaza Strip this weekend, the Cairo military government announced today, significantly easing a four-year blockade on the Hamas-ruled territory but setting up a potential conflict with Israel.

Egypt’s military rulers have sworn in a new cabinet that includes new faces in key ministries, responding to protesters’ demands that the new government be free of stalwarts of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.