Syria Losing Friends as Dozens More Killed

With dozens more reportedly killed during protests in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad is quickly losing allies in the region.

Jordan's King Abdullah again urged Assad to step down and transition power to opposition leaders on Monday night. Abdullah has become the first Arab leader to implore that the Syrian president leave power and he has suggested that the Syrian people start planning for life after Bashar.

Other regional powers, such as Turkey and Iran, have asked Assad to negotiate with opposition leaders, and also condemned his violent crackdown against demonstrators.

I would step down and make sure whoever comes behind me has the ability to change the status quo that we're seeing, King Abdullah told BBC World News television.

If Bashar [al-Assad] has the interest of his country [at heart] he would step down, but he would also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of Syrian political life.

Whenever you exert violence on your own people, it is never going to end well, he added.

Meanwhile, Assad has been scrambling to win back support from Arab League member states.

The League will move to suspend Syria on Tuesday, but if Assad can find 15 of 22 members who support him, the suspension could be stalled or even overturned, according to The Guardian.

Last Wednesday, Assad accepted an Arab League peace plan that would end violence in Syria and open a dialogue between the Syrian government and the opposition leaders.

Assad also agreed to the release of people detained as a result of the recent events, the withdrawal of forces from towns and districts where there have been armed clashes, and the granting of access to the Arab League, and Arab and international media.

But, having not lived up to the agreement, Assad is not likely to find majority support in the organization.

The United Nations has said that more than 3,500 people people have died in during the eight-month long anti-government uprising in Syria.