Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo have given Syria until Friday to agree to let observers into the country or face sanctions ...

Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo have given Syria until Friday to agree to let observers into the country or face sanctions, adding they would call on UN support to resolve the crisis.

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said the 22-member bloc has invited Syria to sign an agreement by Friday allowing observers into the country to monitor the situation on the ground.

Another League official told media sources that the foreign ministers had decided to hold a meeting of the Arab body's economic arm on Saturday to vote on sanctions should Damascus fail to sign on Friday.

The foreign ministers in a statement issued after Thursday's meeting said they would "inform the United Nations Secretary General of their decision and ask him to take all measures to support the efforts of the Arab League to resolve the critical situation in Syria."