KUWAIT CITY: Gulf Arab states called on Wednesday for the withdrawal of “all foreign forces” from Syria, where Iran-backed Shiite militias from Iraq and Lebanon are supporting regime troops against mostly-Sunni rebels.

The Gulf Cooperation Council “strongly condemned the continued genocide that (President Bashar) Assad’s regime is committing against the Syrian people using heavy and chemical weapons... calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Syria,” the six nations said in a statement.