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The six countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council will close their Syrian embassies, the council said Thursday, calling on the international community "to stop what is going on in Syria."
The action, the council said, "confirms its position rejecting the Syrian regime's persistence in killing unarmed Syrian people and ignoring all efforts to resolve the current tragic situation in Syria."
Abdullatif Al-Zayani, the council's secretary-general, "also called on the international community to take urgent and firm actions to stop what is going on in Syria including killing, torturing and flagrant violations of the human rights of the Syrian people."
Council members include the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.
Nations including the United States and France previously have closed their embassies in Damascus, while Italy, Britain and Spain are among countries that have suspended embassy activities.
The Syrian conflict is entering its second year, with President Bashar al-Assad's fierce crackdown against anti-government enclaves showing no signs of ending. More than 8,000 civilians have been killed during the conflict, the United Nations says, but opposition activists said the overall toll is more than 9,000, mostly civilians.
The numbers have exceeded 9,700 and are "fast approaching 10,000," said Rafif Jouejati, spokeswoman for the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition activist network.[http://www.cnn.com cnn]