As international leaders wrestled over the weekend how to deal with the crisis in Syria, much of the nation remained engulfed in violence -- including attacks by government forces on one embattled city that the opposition Syrian National Council described as a "massacre."
Ten months into the uprising in Syria, deadly clashes between opposition fighters and government forces have now spread to suburbs just 15 minutes from the heart of the capital Damascus.
Arab and Western diplomats spoke in support Tuesday of a U.N. Security Council draft resolution that calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, while representatives from Russia and China slammed it as meddlesome.
Citing an escalation in violence, the Arab League called off its monitoring mission in Syria this weekend.
The U.N. Security Council this week will take up a draft resolution proposed by Morocco that calls on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down and transfer power.
At least 64 people were killed in Syria on Sunday, according to an opposition activist group, as the Arab League suspended a monitoring mission designed to protect Syrian civilians from government-sponsored violence.
The Arab League has suspended its monitoring mission in Syria because of a sharp spike in violence, the group said Saturday, the same day opposition activists reported at least 98 deaths.
The U.N. Security Council will hold closed-door talks Friday afternoon on the situation in Syria, the British and French delegations reported Thursday night on their respective Twitter feeds.
Syria has extended the Arab League monitors' mission for a month, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi told CNN Tuesday.
In a televised address, Syria's foreign minister accused the Arab League of working against the desires of the people.
Arab League demands Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step down to help form a unity government. CNN's Ian Lee reports.
The head of Arab League observers in Syria rejected criticism Monday that his team had failed to stop killing in the country, where thousands of people have died in clashes between government protesters and opposition forces demanding the end of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
The Arab League agreed on a path forward in Syria on Sunday that instructs President Bashar al-Assad to delegate powers to his vice president following the formation of a national unity government.
The Arab League was negotiating an extension of its fact-finding mission in Syria Thursday, with its members due to report over the weekend on what they have witnessed of a months-long government crackdown on protests.
Crowds in a Syrian town surrounded by government troops cheered Arab League monitors who visited Sunday as others fled the town on foot to escape the fighting inside.
Arab League monitors have complained about attacks on their Syria mission. CNN's Nic Robertson reports.
Syrian opposition activists called President Bashar al-Assad's defiant and rare address Tuesday a "worthless" and "meaningless" speech.
Arab League officials decided Sunday to bolster the alliance's fact-finding mission to Syria, where thousands have been reported killed by security forces despite ongoing international pressure to halt the violent suppression of popular unrest.
Syria doesn't appear to be adhering to the Arab League's effort to end the 10-month-long violent crackdown against peaceful protesters, and the league should implement appropriate action against Bashar al-Assad's regime if it fails to comply, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said Friday.
A defector from the Syrian government tells CNN's Arwa Damon about the atrocities he says he witnessed.
Arab League monitors made "mistakes" during their fact-finding mission in Syria, a top Qatari official said Thursday.
Activists are livid with the Arab League mission to Syria. CNN"s Arwa Damon reports on the growing controversy.
The Free Syrian Army plans to kick off "huge operations" this week against "vital interests" of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the force's commander said Wednesday.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reports on criticism of Arab League monitors in Syria as new videos emerge.
Syrian officials and opposition activists blamed each other for an attack on a gas pipeline near the restive city of Homs on Tuesday, while opposition groups said more than 30 people had died in new clashes.
Syrian tanks have withdrawn from residential areas in cities, but snipers remain a threat, and killings are still occurring, the head of the Arab League said Monday.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reports on New Year's protests by opposition groups in Syria.
The head of an advisory board to the Arab League called Sunday for the withdrawal of observers from Syria, claiming the mission has allowed Syrian officials to continue a brutal crackdown on protesters.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reports on new videos purported to be out of Syria showing monitors talking with Syrians.
A freelance journalist whom CNN is not naming for his own safety describes struggles that Syrian civilians face in Homs.
Large-scale anti-government protests and more violence unfolded across Syria Friday as tens of thousands of demonstrators converged on public squares to protest President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Security forces fired Thursday at protesters in a Damascus suburb visited by Arab League monitors and more than 30 people died in regions targeted by the observers, opposition activists said.
An Arab League observer steps into a mosque in the city of Homs and is shown the tiny "martyr," one of thousands of people killed in Syria over the past nine months.
The selection of a Sudanese military commander to head the Arab League monitoring mission in Syria is a "farce" because of his government's actions in the embattled Darfur region, a Syrian opposition group said Wednesday.
Concern grows in Syria that Arab League monitors aren't getting the access they need to assess the crackdown there.
Syrian authorities have moved perhaps hundreds of detainees to military sites to hide them from Arab League monitors assessing whether the government is upholding a commitment to end its crackdown on protesters, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.
Members of an Arab League delegation arrived Monday in Syria to look into events on the ground and whether Syria is upholding a commitment to end a brutal crackdown.
On the eve of the planned arrival of Arab League observers, 13 people died and scores were injured in volatile Syria on Sunday, according to the opposition movement.
At least 38 killed outside government and security buildings in Syria. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom reports.
Two powerful suicide car bombs shook the seat of Syrian power Friday in a strike the government blamed on terrorists, and opposition forces called the work of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
More violence erupted in Syria as an Arab League advance team arrived in the country Thursday to plan for an observer mission, part of a larger effort to stop the bloodshed.
As the Syrian military engages in a show of strength, CNN's Rima Maktabi details the opposition plea for intervention.
The Arab League is a step closer to asking the U.N. Security Council to consider a plan designed to forge peace in restive Syria, a senior Arab League official told CNN Saturday.
Syria agreed Monday to Arab League demands that it allow observers into the country, but on the condition that the group immediately drop sanctions and agree to amendments that league officials have previously rejected.
CNN's Rima Maktabi show why Syrian government claims of having video of "terrorist gangs" isn't necessarily correct.
Syria faced additional sanctions from its Arab League neighbors Monday unless it agreed to allow international observers into the country to monitor an agreement to end a months-old crackdown on anti-government protesters.
The Syrian government is conducting intensive and effective surveillance on its citizens. Ivan Watson reports.
The Arab League and other world powers boosted pressure on the Bashar al-Assad regime to end its nearly nine-month-long crackdown on demonstrators, a relentless push against mostly peaceful citizen protest that has now claimed at least 4,000 deaths.
The Arab League's decision to impose sweeping sanctions on Syria, a move followed by Turkey, reflects an unprecedented level of collective action by the historically moribund regional body. The Sunday vote by 19 Arab states to punish Syria further isolates Damascus and undermines President Bashar al-Assad's self-proclaimed role as the dominant voice of Arab nationalism.
The Arab League acted swiftly on its deadline against the Syrian regime this weekend. CNN's Nima Elbagir reports.
Syria's foreign minister decried Arab League sanctions against his nation Monday, accusing the organization of targeting Syrian citizens.
Members of Syria's government are facing sanctions and travel restrictions over its eight-month crackdown on opposition protesters that has left, according to sources reporting to the U.N., at least 3,500 people dead. The regime is showing no indication it will soften its position, so will the isolation of President Bashar al-Assad have any effect?
Anna Coren reports on the clashes in Syria, where activists say 100 people have been killed over the past two days.
Foreign ministers from 19 Arab League countries voted Sunday to slap economic sanctions against the Syrian regime, officials said.
Arab League finance ministers recommended Saturday that economic sanctions be levied against the Syrian government for its part in a bloody, months-long crackdown on civilian demonstrators, a senior Arab League official told CNN.
Syria's failure to respond to Friday's deadline for it to allow Arab League observers into the country to monitor the government's response to civil unrest moves the country a step closer to economic sanctions from its neighbors, a senior Arab League diplomat said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issues a stern warning to Syria's president saying he should leave his seat.
Syria has until Friday to agree to let Arab League observers into the country to monitor the government's response to civil unrest or else face economic sanctions from its neighbors, a senior Arab League diplomat said Thursday.
Secretary Clinton discusses Syria, China and her upcoming trip to Burma in CNN interview.CNN's Brianna Keilar interviews Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about her upcoming trip to Myanmar.
Officials sparred Sunday over a proposed plan to send observers into Syria as the nation's president warned against military intervention.
Syria has accepted "in principle" an Arab League plan to permit observers into the country to verify whether the regime has taken measures to protect civilians, a senior Arab diplomat said Friday.
The crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Syria has resulted in at least 3,500 deaths. The United Nations Security Council should immediately request that all charges of crimes against humanity in Syria be referred to the International Criminal Court.
Turkey threatened to cut off supplies of electricity to its neighbor Syria Tuesday, as the Damascus regime found itself under growing pressure from Arab, Turkish, European and North American governments for its ongoing lethal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
The Syrian foreign minister has reacted angrily to suspension from the Arab League. CNN's Rima Maktabi reports.
A day after a neighboring Arab ruler indirectly called for Syria's dictator to step down, his opponents inside the country did battle early Tuesday against government troops, an opposition group said.
State media showed throngs of demonstrators rallying in support of Syria's president Sunday, a day after the Arab League's decision to suspend the country's membership.
In response to continued violence in Syria the Arab League announced that it is suspending Syrian membership.
Angry supporters of the Syrian president rallied Saturday night at embassies and consulates of countries that voted hours earlier to suspend Syria's membership in the Arab League, anti-government activists said.
The Syrian government's "systematic" crackdown on civilians amounts to crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said in a report issued Friday.
Local NGOs look for help for Syrian refugees as winter approaches.
At least 38 people, including six children, were killed Thursday by security forces across Syria, a network of opposition activists said.
Angry Syrian protesters camped out at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo hurled eggs and tomatoes at an opposition delegation Wednesday, preventing a meeting with the agency's chief.
Violence and demonstrations continue during Eid in Syria. CNN's Arwa Damon reports.
Information leaking out of Syria suggests protesters are still being targeted despite a deal with the Arab League.
Opposition groups called Monday for the international community to protect civilians in the besieged western city of Homs, which the Local Coordinating Committees of Syria said was the site of eight of the 12 killings it tallied on Monday.
Families of freedom fighters who lost sons and fathers knew this would be a somber Eid, exacerbated by a lack of funds.
What is usually a time of celebration was marked by gunfire and protests in Syria on Sunday as residents ushered in the first day of the Muslim holiday, Eid al-Adha.
With reports of mounting civilian deaths in Syria, the U.S. State Department took the unusual step Friday of advising Syrians not to take up the their government's offer of amnesty for demonstrators who turn in their weapons.
Arab League says the Syrian government to pull troops from streets. CNN's Arwa Damon reports.
Syrian troops killed at least 20 civilians and rounded up more suspected anti-government protesters Thursday, a day after the government pledged to end the months-long clampdown, opposition groups said.
Syria has agreed to end its crackdown on anti-government demonstrations, pull troops from the streets and release prisoners jailed during months of protests, the Arab League announced Wednesday.
Syria and the Arab League have reached an agreement on a plan aimed at finding a solution to the months-long unrest in the country, state media reported Tuesday.
The Arab League is calling on Bashar al-Assad's government to remove its tanks and military from the streets of Syria.
The Arab League, which held an emergency meeting in Cairo on Sunday about the ongoing unrest in Syria, is considering suspending the country from the organization.
Citing unspecified "circumstances beyond our control," Syria on Tuesday canceled a scheduled visit by the head of the Arab League, who was to deliver a set of proposals for ending the government's crackdown on protesters who are calling for political reform.
Less than two months after being tapped for the position, Nabil Al-Araby has formally become the head of the Arab League, Egyptian state media reported Sunday.
The Arab League on Sunday elected Egypt's foreign minister as its next secretary-general, an official with the organization said.
Adm. Sam Locklear discusses what happened to the F-15E fighter jet that crashed in Libya.
As military operations in Libya target Moammar Gadhafi's forces, political infighting among the U.N.-backed coalition is growing over who takes command of the mission.
As Libyan government forces barreled down on rebels, the United Nations Security Council was unable to agree Wednesday on a resolution to protect civilians with a no-fly zone or possibly other measures including air strikes.
Even with Libyan rebels trying to beat back Col. Moammar Gadhafi's advancing army, the U.N. Security Council displayed no urgency Monday to adopt a no-fly zone over the war-torn North African nation.
The Arab League voted Saturday to back a no-fly zone in Libya and is asking that the U.N. Security Council impose the measure, officials of the regional body told reporters.
The Arab League has approved the start of direct Middle East peace negotiations. CNN's Kevin Flower explains.
Arab leaders gave the Palestinian Authority on Thursday the green light for direct talks with Israel, a move that prompted the Israeli prime minister to say his country is ready for the face-to-face talks as well.
Arab foreign ministers are expected to discuss a proposal Saturday calling on Sudan's president to hand over two Darfur war crimes suspects to an international tribunal in an effort to fend off the longtime leader's own prosecution
The visit of Egyptian and Jordanian ministers to Israel offers hope. But Arab enthusiasm for peace talks may be fading
Days before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Saddam Hussein agreed in principle to accept an offer of exile from the United Arab Emirates, but the deal fell through, a UAE government senior official told CNN.
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