Syria rejects call for Assad to quit

Syria has rebuffed as a “conspiracy” an Arab League call for president Bashar al-Assad to step down in favour of a unity government to calm a 10-month-old revolt in which thousands of Syrians have been killed.

Lebanese foreign minister Adnan Mansour criticised the move, saying its ministers had taken an “unbalanced” approach to the crisis by disregarding violence perpetrated by Assad’s opponents.

Damascus has not rejected the League’s decision to keep Arab observers in Syria one month longer, Mansour said, even though critics say their presence has not stemmed the bloodshed and only bought more time for Assad to crush his opponents.