Syria attacks Arab League over 'conspiracy'

Syria has accused the Arab League of implementing a foreign conspiracy against the country, after a new initiative by the organisation called for President Bashar al-Assad to step down to end the bloodshed there.

Gulf Arab states said earlier on Tuesday that they had decided to withdraw their observers from the Arab League mission to Syria, saying that the much-criticised initiative had failed to stop the bloodshed.

The new plan envisioned the "peaceful departure of the Syrian regime" and resembled the arrangement in Yemen, where Gulf states convinced Ali Abdullah Saleh, the outgoing president, to delegate power and leave the country, Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, said.

Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna reports from Cairo.