Gulf Arab states on Tuesday urged Syria's government to immediately halt its "killing machine", and called on arch-rival Iran to stop interfering in their internal affairs. The six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council also pledged to implement comprehensive reforms and strengthen economic and military integration as a first step towards forming a union.
In a statement issued at the end of their annual summit, held in Riyadh against the backdrop of the Arab uprisings, the GCC members called on Syria to "immediately halt its killing machine." They appealed for Damascus to "put an end to bloodshed, lift all signs of armed conflict and release prisoners, as a first step towards implementing the (Arab) protocol". Syria signed the accord with the Arab League on Monday after weeks of prevarication in the hope the 22-member bloc will lift sweeping sanctions against the regime.
"If there was goodwill when the protocol was signed, then these steps must be immediately taken," said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, adding the initiative was "proposed to prevent a civil war". Despite the accord, at least 100 mutinous troops were killed or wounded on Tuesday, a day after up to 70 deserters were gunned down while trying to flee their posts, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in the Syrian regime's nine-month crackdown on dissent, the United Nations estimated on December 12. The Gulf states also called on their Shia neighbour to "fully cooperate" with the International Atomic Energy Agency, adding GCC members were committed to a Middle East "free of weapons of mass destruction." The West fears Iran's nuclear programme masks a push to develop an atomic weapons capability, a charge Tehran denies.
Saudi-Iranian relations have deteriorated since 1,000 Gulf troops entered Bahrain to help the Sunni monarchy crush Shia-led democracy protests in February and March. The ties worsened when US justice officials announced in October that they had foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington.