Representatives from more than 100 countries are holding talks in Paris in a fresh attempt to decide what should be done to end the violence in Syria, BBC News said.

The Paris meeting follows similar events in Tunis and Istanbul which demanded tougher action against the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The U.S. and its Western allies are expected to encourage Gulf states to do more to push for global sanctions.

But Russia and China, which both hold vetoes in the United Nations Security Council, are not at the meeting.

Opening the meeting, French President Francois Hollande said it was a "human and political necessity" to stop the conflict.

"The crisis has become a threat to international peace and security," he said, "and we have to draw the conclusions."