GCC Urges Serious Reforms, End to Syrian Bloodshed
Gulf Arab states on Saturday turned up the heat on Damascus, joining a growing chorus of pressure after Syrian security forces shot dead at least 22 people as tens of thousands staged anti-regime protests.
The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council called for an "immediate end to violence... and bloodshed."
Its statement urged a "resort to wisdom and introducing serious and necessary reforms that would protect the rights and dignity of the (Syrian) people, and meet their aspirations."
That call followed a pledge by the U.S., French and German leaders to consider new steps to punish Syria after a deadly crackdown on the first Friday of Ramadan, the holy Muslim month of fasting.
President Barack Obama spoke separately to France's Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel as Western nations cranked up pressure on Syrian leader Bashar Assad.
Source: Agence France Presse
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