Saudi King Demands End to Syria’s Bloodshed

Saudi King Demands End to Syria’s Bloodshed

On August 8, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah released a statement in which he demanded an end to the bloodshed in Syria and recalled his country’s ambassador from Damascus, in a rare case of one of the Arab world’s most powerful leaders intervening against another.

In a written statement he said: "The Syrian authority is capable of implementing comprehensive reforms and fast. Syria's future lies between two choices not three, either it chooses wisdom on its own or it will be pulled down into the depths of turmoil and loss."

On August 7, Syrian tanks stormed for the second day the eastern city of Deir Al Zor, defying a UN appeal. The tanks swept into the city to crush demonstrations against the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

The Arab silence over the bloodshed in Syria was further broken on Sunday when Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby issued a statement expressing “growing concern and strong distress over the deteriorating security conditions in Syria due to escalating violence and military operations in Hama and Deir Al Zor and other areas of Syria.”