WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A decision by the Organization of Islamic Conference to suspend Syria's membership is an indication of the regime's isolation, the U.S. State Department said.
Members of the 57-nation OIC voted to suspend Syria's membership in the bloc. Nizar bin Obaid Madani, Saudi state minister for foreign affairs, said after the conference there was "strong concern" about violence targeting the Syrian people, CNN reports.
Victoria Nuland, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, praised the OIC decision, which was opposed by Iran and Algeria.
The action, she said in a statement, underscores the regime's "increasing international isolation."
A 102-page report published this week by the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry said there were widespread and systematic abuses uncovered during the Syrian conflict. Rebel forces in the country were suspected of committing war crimes but the abuses were "not of the same gravity, frequency and scale" of those carried out by pro-government and paramilitary forces.
U.S. Defense Department officials this week said Washington suspected Iran was helping train pro-government forces in Syria.
OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told CNN, however, there was little support expressed by member states for military action in the country.
