Gulf countries recalling ambassadors in Syria amid escalating violence

Gulf Arab countries announced on Tuesday they were recalling their ambassadors from Damascus and expelling Syrian envoys in response to worsening violence in Syria.  

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, current head of the council, announces that the GCC states have decided to withdraw all their ambassadors from Syria and also demand that all ambassadors of the Syrian regime in its lands leave immediately," a statement from the Gulf Cooperation Council said.   

The six-member GCC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

France and Italy announced they had recalled their ambassadors to Syria, a day after the U.S. closed its embassy in Damascus. The diplomatic moves were a clear message that Western powers see no point in engaging with Assad and now will seek to bolster Syria's opposition.
 
Regime forces, meanwhile, stepped up an assault on Homs, Syria's third largest city.
 
An activist said tanks were closing in on the rebel-held Baba Amr district in Homs, tightening a months-long siege of the area.
 
"The shelling has been going on for days and the siege is getting worse. We are short of everything including food and medical supplies," said an activist who identified himself only by his first name, Omar. "People here have not slept for days."
 
The British-based Observatory for Human Rights said troops were attempting to storm Baba Amr. It also reported that a 15-year-old boy was shot to death by security forces who stormed the town of Houleh, in Homs province.
 
Thousands of Syrians cheered Russia's foreign minister Tuesday as he arrived in Damascus.
 
Lavrov's convoy snaked its way along the Mazzeh boulevard among a sea of Assad supporters who turned up to express gratitude for Moscow's supportive stance. The foreign minister and Russia's foreign intelligence chief Mikhail Fradkov were headed to the presidential palace to meet with Assad.
 
"Thank you Russia and China" read one banner that had the photos of both Assad and the Russian president. Many stood under rain carrying Syrian flags as well as the red, blue and white Russian banner and balloons.
 
More than 5,400 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began in March, the U.N. said early last month. Hundreds more are believe to have been killed since then, but the U.N. says the chaos in the country has made it impossible to cross-check the figures.
 
Syria has blocked access to trouble spots and prevented independent reporting, making it nearly impossible to verify accounts from either side. The Assad regime says terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy to destabilize the country are behind the uprising, not people seeking to transform the authoritarian regime.
 
On Monday, troops shelled a makeshift medical clinic and residential areas, killing nearly 70 people, activists said. More than a dozen others were reported killed elsewhere.
 
The escalating violence prompted the United States to close its embassy in Syria and send U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford and 17 other U.S. officials out of the country.