Beirut backed Damascus and rejected the Arab League's call to end bloodshed in Syria. Lebanon's Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said Wednesday Lebanon stands by its brother Syria and rejected a call by the Arab League demanding an end to the violence. Arab states told Syria earlier this week to "resort to reason" and end months of bloodshed after some of the most intense protests erupted in Damascus since the start of the uprising against President Bashar Assad. The Arab League foreign ministers also agreed to send Secretary-General Nabil el-Arabi to Syria to push for political and economic reforms in the country ruled by Assad's family for 41 years. The United Nations says at least 2,200 people have been killed since Assad sent in tanks and troops to crush the demonstrations that erupted in March after the presidents of Tunisia and Egypt were toppled by popular protests.
