The Secretary General of the Arab league has warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that the imposition of sanctions was a ‘very serious’ message that they were sending, and urged him to cease the ongoing violence in the country immediately.
Speaking to the BBC, the Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi said that the decision was taken “with a heavy heart” but,
"We have sent a very serious political message"
"You (Syria) have to behave, you have to stop what is going on, it's not business as usual. Something has to happen."
He went on to say that "time was running out" for President Bashar al-Assad and that he had to "stop fighting, release prisoners, reform".
Meanwhile, Turkish foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters, that they were ready for ‘any scenario’ in Syria.
He said,
“We hope that a military intervention will never be necessary.”
"However, the Syrian regime has to find a way of making peace with its own people to eliminate this option. If the oppression continues, Turkey is ready for any scenario."
See our earlier post: UN report alleges crimes against humanity in Syria (Nov 2011)
