Arab League weighs in on Syrian crisis

CAIRO, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- With international pressure growing, Arab diplomats said they wanted Syria to have a national dialogue at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo in two weeks.

The Arab League, during an emergency meeting to address the conflict in Syria, fell short of the votes needed to suspend Syria from the bloc. Instead, Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani called for a national dialogue in Cairo in 15 days, Voice of America reports.

Youssef Ahmad, Syria's envoy to the Arab League, said Qatar had a biased stance on the situation in Syria, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reports.

Ahmad, SANA notes, told bloc members that the situation in the country was stabilizing and President Bashar Assad was moving ahead with a series of reform measures.

He added that efforts to restore security in the country were hindered by the "criminal activities of armed groups," who were motivated by "external connections," SANA adds.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said last week that international action against Damascus was long overdue. Her agency announced that the death toll since the uprising against Assad began in mid-March has topped 3,000. This includes at least 187 children.