Arab League calls on Assad to quit for the sake of his country

Arab League countries on Sunday urged the Syrian leader to quit in exchange for a "safe" exit for himself and his family. This came after a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Arab League in Doha.

In a joint statement issued early Monday after their meeting in Doha, Arab League foreign ministers called on Assad to handover powers, assuring him that the Arab League will help him and ensure his family a safe exit. This initiative is intended to end the bloodshed, preserve the unity of Syria and "ensure a peaceful transition of power in this country, a member of the Arab League," according to the declaration.

Sheikh Hamad urged President Assad to take a "courageous" decision to save his country. "He can stop the destruction and killings by taking a courageous decision," he stressed, indicating that only one country of the Arab League, which he did not name, had expressed reservations about the final communique.

Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassam Al-Thani, announced that the ministers called on the opposition and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to set up a transitional government.

"The opposition and FSA are called to form a government of national unity," he said.

A similar proposal was already made Saturday by the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

They also called on the U.N. to change the mandate of the international envoy to Syria Kofi Annan by suggesting that his mission focus on the departure of Assad and a peaceful transition of power, according to the text.

The ministers also decided to allocate, through the Arab League, a sum of $100 million (U.S.) to Syrian refugees.

The prime minister of Qatar and the secretary general of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi, are set to visit Moscow and Beijing soon. They'll present the results of the Doha meeting to leaders of Russia and China in order to put pressure on the "allies" of Damascus.

On the ground, the Dogan News Agency reported that Free Syrian Army seized an army infantry school in the town of Musalmiyeh, 10 miles north of the city of Aleppo, a senior military defector based in Turkey said.

“This is of big strategic and symbolic importance. The school has ammunition depots and armored formations and it protects the northern gate to Aleppo,” Brigadier General Mustafa al-Sheikh told the news agency.

“I cannot tell you the details but I can say that the morale of the Syrian army is collapsing,” he added.

Earlier on Monday, Reuters reported tha regime forces executed at least 20 unarmed men, aged approximately 20 to 30, in the Damascus neighborhood of Mezzeh. According to the report, the men were executed because the troops suspected they had been aiding rebels in the area.

Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/23/227845.html