OIC suspends, isolates Syria
Syrians flee the town of Azaaz, near the northern restive Syrian city of Aleppo, following an air strike on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
The world community piled the pressure on Syria Thursday to end 17 months of bloodshed as the top world Muslim body OIC suspended Syria , saying it can no longer accept a regime that "massacres its people and even traditional ally China told Damascus to rapidly implement a ceasefire.
The latest moves come after dozens of people, including women and children, were reported killed in a massive air strike on civilians in a rebel bastion in the north of Syria.
Adding to the pressure on the embattled regime, an emergency OIC summit said it had agreed to suspend Syria because of "deep concern at the massacres and inhuman acts suffered by the Syrian people".
OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said: "This (Muslim) world can no longer accept a regime that massacres its people using planes, tanks and heavy artillery."
The United States and the opposition Syrian National Council welcomed the move, but it was rejected by the official press in Damascus and Syria's staunch ally Iran.
Violence continues to grip many parts of the country, including the northern battleground of Aleppo, near the scene of Wednesday's air strike in the town of Aazaz.
At least 80 people were killed nationwide Thursday, including 18 civilians in shelling in Aleppo, according to the Observatory.
The UN Security Council meets later Thursday to formally end its observer mission in Syria with world powers still in deadlock over how to end a conflict that risks destabilising the entire region.
Ahead of the meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi -- whose country has joined Russia in vetoing three UN resolutions on the crisis -- urged Damascus to implement a ceasefire and accept international mediation.
"China urges the Syrian government and all concerned parties... to quickly implement a ceasefire to end the violence and start political dialogue," Yang told visiting Syrian envoy Bouthaina Shaaban.
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos also warned that the situation in Syria was worsening, with the number of people in need possibly as high as 2.5 million and at least a million at risk of "destitution".
Meanwhile, with the West still refusing to arm Syria's opposition in the bloody fight against the regime, rebels in the flashpoint northern city of Aleppo warn that they could turn to al-Qaeda for help.
"We don't want al-Qaeda here, but if nobody else helps us, we will make an alliance with them," said Abu Ammar, a rebel commander in the central Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo, scene of raging battles for almost a month.
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