Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting soon to discuss mounting violence in Syria, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah said on Monday.
The announcement comes just hours after Kuwait recalled its ambassador from Syria "for consultations," following the same move by Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Kuwait's ambassador has been recalled "in a sign of protest against the suppression of peaceful protests in Syria by government troops," the al-Sabah was quoted as saying by Al Arabiya TV channel.
Later on Monday, Bahrain also recalled its envoy from Syria "for consultations," Western news agencies said.
On Saturday, after a week of bloody government crackdown on protesters, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to "refrain from the excessive use of force" and launch "serious reforms guaranteeing full civil rights to the Syrian people."
The statement came as part of growing international pressure on the Assad regime, including the strongest ever condemnation of the violence in Syria by the Arab League, which was issued on Sunday.
In its statement, the Arab League expressed its "strong distress" over the crackdown on protesters and urged Assad to "immediately" stop using force against civilians.
The United Nations stepped up pressure on the Syrian government on Wednesday, condemning "the widespread violations of human rights and the use of force against civilians by the Syrian authorities" in a UN Security Council presidential statement.
The international reaction followed reports of massive attacks by pro-Assad troops on the Syrian cities of Hama and Deir al-Zor, as well as other cities and towns, in which at least 300 people, mostly peaceful protesters, have been killed over the past week, the deadliest since the uprising against the Assad family's 40-year rule began five month ago.
On Sunday, more than 50 people were reported to have been killed by Syrian security forces in Deir al-Zor and the central town of Hula. The government intensified its crackdown on protesters with the beginning of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, fearing that the dissent would use massive daily prayers at mosques to organize larger protests.
