Syria rejects Arab call for Assad to quit

DAMASCUS - The Syrian government rejected a fresh plan from the Arab League (AL) which urged President Bashar al-Assad to relinquish his power, Syrian official SANA news agency reported on Monday.

"Syria rejects the decision which interferes in Syria's national sovereignty and domestic affairs," the SANA news agency quoted an anonymous official as saying.

After a closed-door meeting of Arab foreign ministers held in Cairo on Sunday, the AL demanded that Syrian President al-Assad delegate power to his first vice president to pave the way for a national unity government to be formed within two months in a fresh initiative aimed at ending the political crisis in the conflicts-torn country.

Syria condemned the AL's decision and urged Arab foreign ministers to stop supporting "terrorist organizations" which it claims are responsible for violence in the country.

It also criticized the pan-Arab organization for ignoring the efforts made by President al-Assad to end bloodshed and start political reform, the official added.

Syria was plunged into turmoil in mid-March last year when anti-government protests broke out.

The West has seized on the opportunity to slap fresh sanctions against Syria, a long-time ally of anti-West Iran, and openly demanded President al-Assad to step down, claiming his crackdown on popular protests has led to the losses of thousands of innocent lives.

The Syrian government blamed armed groups for the bloodshed and insisted government forces are trying to restoring order. It also blasted the West for instigating anti-government protests in the country.

The AL has stripped Syria of its membership for the bloodshed and initiated a peace plan, possibly to avoid direct Western military intervention in Syria.

It signed an agreement with Damascus on December 19 last year in Cairo to send Arab observers in to Syria to monitor the implementation of the peace plan.

Some of the AL members, led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which are concerned about the rising influence of Iran in the region, believed the monitoring mission failed to stem violence in Syria and hinted at more drastic measures to end the crisis.

The Syrian government says that the turmoil in Syria is plotted by "terrorists" and foreign-backed "armed gangs."

It said more than 2,000 army and security personnel were killed during the months-long unrest, while the United Nations put the death toll in the country at more than 5,000.