Arab League holds emergency session on Syria

Ministers on Saturday made their way into the 22-member bodys headquarters in Cairo to debate their response to Syrias defiance of an earlier League initiative calling for a cease-fire.They walked past about 100 demonstrators, who echoed calls by Syrias opposition to suspend the countrys membership in the 22-nation body -- a powerful symbolic blow to a nation that prides itself on being a powerhouse of Arab nationalism.Protesters carried placards reading Freedom for the Syrian people and Arab leaders are garbage as they chanted for the removal of Syrian President Bashar Assad. They were joined by demonstrators from Yemen, protesting violent government crackdowns in their country.Syria agreed to a peace plan last week brokered by the Arab League, but the violence has continued unabated, with November shaping up to be the bloodiest month yet in Syrias 8-month-old uprising. More than 250 Syrian civilians have been killed in the past 11 days as the regime besieges the rebellious city of Homs.The U.N. estimates some 3,500 people have been killed in the Syrian crackdown since the uprising began eight months ago, inspired by the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.The bloodshed has spiked dramatically in recent weeks amid signs that more protesters are taking up arms to protect themselves, changing the face of what has been a largely peaceful movement. Many fear the change plays directly into the hands of the regime by giving the military a pretext to crack down with increasing force.Although the crackdown has led to broad international isolation, President Assad appears to have a firm grip on power.Syria blames the bloodshed on armed gangs and extremists acting out a foreign agenda to destabilize the regime.