Arab leaders condemn Assad at last

Arab support for President Bashar al-Assad was evaporating last night as three Gulf countries announced that they were withdrawing their ambassadors following days of killings across Syria.

Bahrain and Kuwait followed in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia, whose leader, King Abdullah, issued an unusually stern warning to the Syrian leader to end his brutal crackdown on protesters.

The development came as tanks pummelled cities in eastern and central Syria.

One activist said doctors suspected Syrian security forces of conducting "execution-style" killings as the army tried to put a lid on protests which erupted in mid-March and have left more than 1,700 dead.