Arabs Urge U.N. Action amid Fears of Civil War in Syria

Arab leaders called for U.N. action on Saturday as at least 27 people were killed in Syria amid growing concern that Kofi Annan's peace plan is failing and the country descending into all-out civil war.

Annan himself warned of sectarian warfare, singling out Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime as key to resolving the conflict.

"The spectra of an all-out war with a worrying sectarian dimension grows by the day," he told a ministerial meeting on Syria in Doha.

"The situation is complex and it takes everyone involved in the conflict to act responsibly if the violence is to stop. But the first responsibility lies in the Syrian government and President Assad," he said.

Up to 300 unarmed U.N. military observers have deployed in Syria since a putative ceasefire brokered by Annan went into effect in April as part of a six-point peace plan, which also stipulated that the army must pull out of towns and cities.

"I told Assad he must act now to implement all points of the plan, and must make bold and visible steps immediately to radically change his military posture and honor commitments to withdraw heavy weapons and cease all violence," Annan said.

He also said he told Assad to release detainees, open up the country to international humanitarian aid and allow freedom of expression as "this is essential to demonstrate his seriousness to the Syrian people and the international community."

Earlier, the Arab League's ministerial committee on Syria had called on Annan, the U.N.-Arab League envoy on the crisis who met Assad earlier this week, to set a time frame for his mission.

"We request Mr. Annan to set a time frame for his mission because it is unacceptable that massacres and bloodshed continue while the mission is ongoing indefinitely," Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said.

"We demand the U.N. Security Council refer the six-point (Annan plan) to Chapter VII so that the international community could assume responsibilities," he added.

Chapter VII outlines action the Security Council might take, including military force, in response to threats to international peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression.

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi also said he had asked the Security Council to take strong action to protect civilians in Syria but did not raise the question of intervention.

"I sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council asking it to undertake all necessary measures to protect the Syrian people," Arabi told Agence France Presse shortly before the opening of the Doha meeting.