Qatar emir suggests sending Arab troops to Syria

The emir of Qatar has suggested sending Arab troops to halt the bloodshed in Syria,the first Arab leader to propose such a move, in an interview to be broadcast on CBS's "60 Minutes".

Asked if he was in favour of Arab nations intervening in Syria, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said: "For such a
situation to stop the killing ... some troops should go to stop the killing."

CBS said on its website that the interview would be broadcast on Sunday.
Qatar's prime minister heads the Arab League committee on Syria and has said killings have not stopped despite the presence of Arab monitors sent there last month to check whether the authorities are complying with an Arab peace plan.

In the preview of the interview on the website, the emir did not spell out how any Arab military intervention might work.

The United Nations says more than 5,000 people have been killed since protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad erupted in March. Syrian officials say 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed by armed "terrorists".