Ahead of an Arab League meeting on Syria, Saud al-Faisal on Sunday urged Arab countries to back calls by the Syrian opposition for strikes on Syria government.

Arab states must echo demands by the "legitimate" representatives of the Syrian people for "help from the international community to put an end to the bloodbath" in Syria, he said, referring to the foreign backed militant groups.

The Saudi foreign minister did not explicitly mention a call by US President Barack Obama to launch illegal strikes on Syria for allegedly unleashing chemical weapons on its citizens last month, which according to UN experts has not been verified yet.

But he told a news conference in Cairo that the international community must stop "the aggression against the Syrian people before these people perish".

Syria's main militant groups said Sunday it was disappointed with Obama's decision to seek approval from Congress for action against the Syria government, but said it believed lawmakers would approve a strike.

Arab League foreign ministers met at the body's Cairo headquarters later Sunday. The Saudi foreign minister urged his counterparts in the pan-Arab body to back the Syrian militant groups beyond condemnations of Syrian government defensive operations.

"Condemnations are not enough," he said.

A meeting of permanent representatives of the Arab League last Tuesday accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of unleashing a chemical attack in Damascus suburbs on August 21.

NJF/NJF