Satellite companies Nilesat and Arabsat have stopped broadcasting Syrian television stations in a clear act of hostility against the Damascus government.

Satellite companies Nilesat and Arabsat have stopped broadcasting Syrian television stations in a clear act of hostility against the Damascus government.

The operators took Syria’s state television channel as well as pro-government channels al-Ikhbaryah and al-Dunya off air on Wednesday shortly after a meeting of the Arab League ministers in Cairo.

The Syrian government has slammed the move as an attempt to silence the Syrians, stressing that it is in violation of media ethics.

It is believed that by removing Syrian channels from Nilesat and Arabsat, Western-backed anti-Syria channels will gain absolute control of media with regard to covering events unfolding in Syria.

Syria has been the scene of deadly unrest since mid-March, 2011 and many people, including large numbers of army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

While the West and the Syrian militant opposition accuse the government of being behind the violence, Damascus blames ''outlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups'' for the unrest, insisting that it is being orchestrated from abroad.