The Arab League suggested a Qatari proposal to send Arab troops to Syria could be discussed this week.

But the idea has exposed divisions in the league. Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki said: "Such intervention would signify that the war will spread across the whole region, opening the way to all powers, following the example of Turkey, Israel, Iran and Hezbollah. That would mean the whole region exploding."

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani the Emir of Qatar, which led the Arab involvement in the Libyan conflict, said he now favoured sending troops "to stop the killing", the first Arab leader to say so publicly.

He won support from the former head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, who noted that the Arab League should begin to study this possibility and begin consultations on this issue, The Guardian reported.