Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has drawn criticism from leaders of neighboring nations, most notably those in the Arab League, for his iron-fisted crackdown on dissenters in his country. On Monday, King Abdullah of Jordan ramped up the pressure on Assad to step down by expressing his lack of faith in the Syrian government in its current form and telling the BBC he thinks Assad should go. –KA

BBC:

Arab leaders have increasingly criticised the crackdown in Syria after months of violence.

Both the Saudi and Qatari ambassadors left Damascus in protest at the repression. The Arab League voted on Saturday to suspend Syria’s membership.

However King Abdullah went further than other Arab leaders in his exclusive interview with BBC World News television.

“If Bashar has the interest of his country, he would step down, but he would also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of Syrian political life,” he said.

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