Christians in strife-torn Syria face the same sort of dangers as their Muslim counterparts but are not being specially targeted in the conflict, a Chaldean bishop from the Syrian city of Aleppo said on Wednesday.

Antoine Audo, who is attending a three-day regional conference of the Catholic charity Caritas in Jordan, told Agence France Presse that Christians in Syria are also not being forcibly displaced but are trying to find refuge elsewhere due to instability in the country.

President Moncef Marzouki was holding urgent talks on Wednesday with political leaders in a bid to steer Tunisia out of a weeks-long crisis exacerbated by the resignation of Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali.

Marzouki was meeting in the morning with leader of the Islamist ruling Ennahda party, Rached Ghannouchi, and later with Maya Jribi of the opposition Republican party, his office said.

Germany's foreign minister on Wednesday called for squabbling factions in Tunisia to come together "in a spirit of dialogue" after Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali resigned amid a political crisis.

Guido Westerwelle said in a statement that Berlin was "very closely watching" the situation in the North African country "in these critical days for its democratic development."

Russia on Wednesday urged the warring sides in Syria to halt their almost two-year conflict and start talks, warning that seeking a military settlement risked mutual destruction.

"It's time to end this two-year conflict," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after a meeting with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi and other top Arab diplomats.

Police arrested two separatist leaders in south Yemen, ahead of planned rival rallies to mark the first anniversary of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh's ouster, a security official and activists said on Wednesday.

Qassem Askar, a leader of the hardline faction of the separatist Southern Movement, was arrested early in the morning in the southern port city Aden, activist Yasser al-Yafie told Agence France Presse. "He was taken to an unknown location."

Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador from Colombo in a tit-for-tat move amid tensions after a Sri Lankan nanny convicted of murder was beheaded in the kingdom, the official SPA news agency reported.

"Based on the decision by the Sri Lankan government to withdraw its ambassador from the kingdom, the (Saudi) foreign ministry has recalled its ambassador in Sri Lanka for consultations," SPA reported late Tuesday quoting a ministry spokesman.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon raised deep concern on Tuesday over Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli prisons, saying they must be charged and tried or be released.

Ban highlighted the case of Samer Issawi, who has been refusing food since August 1 and is in a "critical health condition."

The Israeli army said Tuesday it has launched an investigation after a soldier allegedly posted a picture on Instagram of a Palestinian child's head in the crosshairs of his sniper rifle.

The picture, which went viral on the Facebook-owned picture-sharing website before it was removed, shows a child sitting with his back to the sniper's telescope, with its crosshairs on the left side of his head.

Bahrain accused Iran on Tuesday of having formed a "terrorist cell" busted at the weekend, saying its aim was to foster violence in the Gulf kingdom.

The announcement was the latest in a series of claims that Iran was backing activists demanding a greater say for the Shiite majority in Bahrain's politics and likely to exacerbate tensions between the two neighbors.

Islamist rebels and Kurdish militias have ceased hostilities in the northern Syrian city of Ras al-Ain after sealing an accord that will see them fight together against the regime, activists said Tuesday.

Intermittent and sometimes deadly clashes have taken place between the two sides since rebels entered the majority Kurdish city, located on the border with Turkey, several months ago.