(CNN) -- The six countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council will close their Syrian embassies, the council said Thursday, calling on the international community "to stop what is going on in Syria." The action, the council said, "confirms its position rejecting the Syrian regime's persistence in killing unarmed Syrian people and ignoring all efforts to resolve the current tragic situation in Syria." Abdullatif Al-Zayani, the council's secretary-general, "also called on the international community to take urgent and firm actions to stop what is going on in Syria including killing, torturing and flagrant violations of the human rights of the Syrian people."
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NEW: The six Gulf Cooperation Council countries close their Syrian embassies
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An assessment mission will start this weekend, a U.N. official says
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The death toll is "fast approaching 10,000," an activist says
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U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan will brief the U.N. Security Council on Friday
It says it has popular support for its actions, and Thursday, government news outlets reported thousands of @placeholder gathering in city squares to show their "love" and loyalty" for their homeland.