Jordan's King Abdullah becomes first Arab leader to urge Syria's Assad to quit

London, Nov 15 (ANI): Jordan's King Abdullah has become the first Arab leader to openly call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Jordan, which has criticised Syria's violent crackdown on anti-government protesters in recent months, said Assad should initiate a political dialogue.

"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 the BBC.

"If Bashar has the interest of his country, he would step down, but he would also create an ability to reach out and start a new phase of Syrian political life," the Daily Mail quoted him, as saying.

The Arab League has also suspended Syria from its League membership, until Assad halts his bloody crackdown on the eight-month uprising.

According to the report, at least 40 Syrians were killed in fighting on Monday between forces loyal to al-Assad and insurgents in a town near the border with Jordan, in the first case of major armed resistance to Assad in the region. (ANI)