Britain has withdrawn its diplomatic staff from Syria because of a growing risk to their safety, Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Thursday.

British diplomats left Syria on Wednesday and will return to Britain soon, he said in a written statement to parliament.

The U.N.'s Human Rights Council called on Syria Thursday to end all rights abuses and allow aid agencies "free and unimpeded" access to those caught up in the bloodshed.

A resolution adopted by the council condemned the "continued widespread and systematic violations of human rights" and urged the authorities to let humanitarian groups, including U.N. organization, in to deliver vital aid.

The Syrian foreign ministry said on Thursday that it was willing to discuss a date for a visit by the U.N. humanitarian chief, saying the timing she had originally requested was "not suitable.”

U.N. undersecretary general Valerie Amos had "requested to come to Syria at a time that was not suitable for us. We are willing to continue discussions with her about a time suitable for both sides," the ministry said in a statement carried by state television.

Kuwait's parliament adopted on Thursday a non-binding resolution calling on the government to arm the Syrian opposition and to sever diplomatic ties with Damascus.

The vote came following an emergency session to debate developments in Syria, where thousands of people have been killed in a bloody crackdown by the regime of President Bashar Assad on pro-democracy protests.

Human Rights Watch sharply criticized Iraq on Thursday for using "repressive means" to muzzle peaceful protests last week to mark the anniversary of nationwide anti-government rallies.

The New York-based watchdog said activists were threatened with violence and arrest in the build-up to the anniversary protests last month, and said security forces used various means to prevent demonstrators from attending rallies in Baghdad.

Syrian rebels were still holding out on Thursday nearly two days into a ground assault by regime forces against the Homs district of Baba Amr, activists said, as a security source insisted regime forces were almost in control.

"The Free Syrian Army has succeeded in stopping the attempt to attack Baba Amr, and it continues to resist," Homs-based activist Hadi Abdullah told Agence France Presse.

The new international mediator for Syria, former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan, said Wednesday he hopes to be in Damascus soon with a "clear" message that the killing must end.

But he also demanded that the divided international community unite behind his mission as a special envoy for the United Nations and Arab League.

Underneath the plaza outside Israel's Habima national theater, Israel has put the finishing touches on a new gathering place that it hopes will never host a crowd: the country's most advanced public underground bomb shelter.

The shelter, four stories underground and with space for 1,600 people, is usually a parking lot. It is also part of Tel Aviv's elaborate civil defense infrastructure. City officials have been beefing up shelters and emergency services in recent months at a time of rising tensions with Iran and militant groups in the Gaza Strip.

Gulf foreign ministers will meet their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in the Saudi capital next week to discuss developments in Syria, Kuwait's foreign minister said on Thursday.

"A meeting will be held with the Russian foreign minister and the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council on March 7 in Riyadh," Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah told Kuwaiti MPs.

The opposition Syrian National Council announced Wednesday setting up a military bureau to supervise the "armed resistance" against the regime, as Washington raised fears of al-Qaida taking advantage of arming the rebellion.

"The SNC has decided to set up a military bureau, acknowledging the importance of putting controls on the armed resistance in Syria and in support of the Free (Syrian) Army," the umbrella exile-alliance of several opposition groups said in a statement.