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Arab League to meet on Syria amid US threats

Arab League to meet on Syria amid US threats

Arab foreign ministers are due to meet in Cairo to discuss the ongoing Syria crisis as Arab countries are facing public pressure to act against a possible US strike on Syria.
The meeting in the Egyptian capital had been scheduled for Tuesday, but was advanced to Sunday “in light of rapid developments in the Syria situation and based on the request of several Arab states”, Ahmed Ben Helli, Arab League deputy chief, said on Saturday.
The Arab League has been widely criticized for its controversial stances against Syria.
The league rushed to suspend Syria’s membership in 2011 after pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency by infiltration of foreign militants from Arab and European countries.
The insurgency in Syria is largely funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar according to reports and available data.
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, named the regional body on Friday among a list of allies “ready to respond” to the alleged chemical-weapons attack which the US says is Syrian government is responsible for.
However, some influential Arab League members, including Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia and Algeria, have expressed opposition to foreign military intervention in Syria, while several others, including Qatar, have remained silent on the matter.
Bahrain which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, has also said that it will not allow its soil to be a Launchpad to a military strike on Syria.

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