Syria: Arab League leaders gather for historic Baghdad summit Sunni powers Saudi Arabia and Qatar have led the push to isolate Syria, including suggests for arming Syria's opposition, but non-Gulf Arab states such as Algeria and Shi'ite-led Iraq urge more caution, fearing that toppling Assad could spark sectarian violence. Annan's proposal calls for the withdrawal of heavy weapons and troops from population centres, humanitarian assistance, the release of prisoners and free movement and access for journalists. But it does not explicitly call for Assad to step down from office. Diplomats say one of Annan's ideas is for a UN observer mission to monitor any eventual ceasefire, a mechanism likely to require a U.N. Security Council mandate. An Arab League observation mission in Syria last year failed to end Assad's crackdown on protests, and faced internal dissent. But the League has also discussed a joint U.N.-Arab mission for Syria. Even as Arab foreign ministers held talks in Baghdad on Wednesday before Thursday's summit, Syrian forces bombarded cities and towns in southern and northern Syria, forcing thousands to flee violence. The United Nations says around 9,000 people have been killed in fighting. Damascus blames foreign-backed terrorists for the violence, saying 3,000 soldiers and police have been killed. The Arab Summit in Baghdad is the first in Iraq for more than two decades and the first hosted by a Shi'ite Arab leader, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.Pulling back from years of war, Iraq hopes to use the summit as a way to highlight its return to the diplomatic stage and has sought a fledging détente with Sunni Gulf Arab nations long wary of Iraq's close ties to Shi'ite power Iran.