LAS urges Assad’s resignation

LAS foreign ministers have had a special meeting in Doha (Qatar) on Syria and urged its President Bashar al-Assad to resign, RIA Novosti reports.

Prime Minister of Qatar Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said that Assad’s resignation would end destruction and bloodshed. The transitional government needs to include members of the Free Syrian Army.

The foreign ministers want the UN to concentrate on power transition in Syria.

Al Thani and LAS Secretary General Nabil Elaraby are expected to visit Russia and China.

The conflict in Syria has been ongoing for over a year, despite the peace plan of UN special envoy Kofi Annan implemented in mid-April. The UN says that over 16,000 people have died, 230,000 have become refugees and about a million need humanitarian aid. Syrian authorities say that over 2,500 servicemen and police officers and over 3,200 civilians have been killed by well-armed opposition.