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Islamic Summit Focuses on End to Syria's Bloodshed


Leaders of Muslim nations meeting in Cairo called Thursday for greater effort to bring the war in Syria to a negotiated end.

The two-day summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation wrapped up as Islamic leaders backed a plan by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi for dialogue among Syrians to end the brutal civil war.

They urged opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to meet with "untainted" government officials.

Mr. Morsi said everyone at the summit agreed on the need to ramp up efforts to end what he called "the tragedy that the Syrian people are living."

The 57-member Islamic group suspended Syria last year because of nearly two years of violence it blames largely on the government.



Wednesday, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, who hosted the two-day conference, admonished what he called "the ruling regime" in Damascus for not learning from the lessons of history and putting its interests above those of the nation.

Separately, Senegalese President Macky Sall used his opening address Wednesday to urge leaders of the 57-member OIC to support Mali's sovereignty.

He said the group cannot allow "a minority of terrorists to commit crimes, distort our faith and deepen hatred for Islam."
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