Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday pleaded for more support for the swelling number of Syrian refugees, warning that his country was overwhelmed.

Abdullah said that Jordanians -- also major hosts of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees -- "have opened their arms to those in need, as we have always done."

Al-Qaida suspects freed 21 policemen they captured during a deadly attack against security personnel in southern Yemen last week, a security official said Tuesday.

"Al-Qaida militants released the 21 captured policemen following tribal mediation," the official told Agence France Presse.

French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday the U.N. Security Council had to make a threat of eventual "coercive" measures against Syria if it does not hand over its chemical weapons.

Hollande told the U.N. General Assembly that a resolution being discussed must "foresee coercive measures" under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter and for those responsible for chemical weapon attacks in Syria to be "held accountable in the justice system."

A French Muslim convert has been killed fighting the Syrian army in the northern province of Aleppo, a monitoring group said on Tuesday.

"Abu Mohammad al-Faransi, a Frenchman who converted to Islam, was killed while fighting against regime forces on Sunday in the south of Aleppo province," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Gunmen killed an Egyptian policeman in an attack on his vehicle on Monday near the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya, security officials said.

Two officers were wounded in the attack on a police patrol, the officials said. The assailants fled the scene.

New moves by Egypt's army-installed authorities against the Muslim Brotherhood will not eradicate the movement, merely drive it underground, and run the risk of stoking militancy, analysts say.

An Egyptian court on Monday banned the Brotherhood from operating and ordered its assets seized, in the latest step in an intensifying crackdown since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohammed Morsi on July 3.

Tunisia's main trade union confederation said it would launch a protest campaign Wednesday to pressure the ruling Islamist party into accepting mediators' proposals for ending two months of political deadlock.

The UGTT, which has been leading the mediation efforts, said in a post on its Facebook page that gatherings would take place in the Ariana suburb of Tunis on Wednesday, and in different locations outside the capital on Thursday.

A Tunisian court on Tuesday freed on bail a film director detained last month for throwing an egg at the culture minister, one of his lawyers told Agence France Presse.

The Tunis court of first instance decided early Tuesday morning to free the film director Nasreddine Shili, who has been in custody since August 21, attorney Abeda Kefi said.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday demanded that the world take action on Syria, saying that the regime must face consequences after the use of chemical weapons.

Speaking before the U.N. General Assembly, Obama defended his threat of force against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime and denounced critics who accuse the United States of inconsistency.

Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy has warned Hamas of a "harsh response" if the Palestinian Islamist movement that rules the neighboring Gaza Strip threatened Egypt's national security.

The response "will be harsh if we feel that elements within Hamas or other parties are trying to attack Egyptian national security," Fahmy said in an interview with pan-Arab daily Hayat published Tuesday.