Hague seeks world support to send peace force to Syria

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The Foreign Secretary said Britain would hold urgent talks on the plan for a joint Arab League and United Nations mission, saying it could have "an important role to play in saving lives".

But he signalled that the move would only go ahead if President Bashar al Assad halted the violence against his people. More than 5,000 people have been killed by President Assad's regime and rockets have rained down on the city of Homs for over a week.

Yesterday the Arab League proposed a peacekeeping force as part of a plan to end the 11-month conflict but it was "categorically rejected" by Syria.

Mr Hague praised the Arab League for taking "significant steps" to increase diplomatic and economic isolation of Syria and vowed the UK would play a "very active" role in a Friends of Syria contact group which will meet in Tunisia on February 24. He said: "We will discuss urgently with the Arab League and our international partners the proposals for a joint AL/UN peacekeeping force.

"Such a mission could have an important role to play in saving lives, providing the Assad regime ends the violence against civilians, withdraws its forces from towns and cities and establishes a credible ceasefire.

"President Assad must be in no doubt of the determination of his neighbours and the international community to bring an end to the violence in Syria." Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov indicated his country would study the proposal but said a ceasefire would have to be declared first. China refused to say if it backed the call.

Any moves to assist the uprising against President Assad have been complicated after the head of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri, called on militants to help topple a "cancerous regime". Last week two suicide bombings in the coastal city of Aleppo were attributed to Islamist militants.