Syria rejects Arab League plans

The league, meeting in Cairo, also called on Syria to form a national unity government with the opposition within two months.

A government official called the plan "flagrant interference" in Syria's internal affairs, state TV said.

The UN says more than 5,000 people have died as a result of the crackdown on protests since they began last March.

The league called on both sides to end the bloodshed.

The government in Damascus says it is fighting "terrorists and armed gangs" and claims that some 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed.

Officials said Arab League proposals were not in the interests of the Syrian people and would not prevent the country from "advancing its political reforms and bringing security and stability to its people who have shown, during this crisis, their support for national unity as they have rallied around President Assad".

Saudi Arabia said it was pulling out of the league's 165-strong monitoring mission in Syria because Damascus had broken promises on peace initiatives.

While the Arab League ministers said they were extending the controversial mission for another month, analysts say the Saudi decision has thrown its longer-term future into serious doubt.

Saudi Arabia is one of the key founders of the league's projects, but the monitors have been criticised for failing to stop the violence.

Meanwhile, violence has continued in Syria, with activists reporting battles between government troops and army defectors in Damascus' suburb of Douma on Sunday.

At least five people were killed, according to Syria's Local Coordination Committees.

Activists say almost 1,000 people have been killed since the monitoring mission began in December.