Arab League poised to vote on restoring Syria membership

By MOHAMED WAGDY and KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Foreign ministers from Arab League member states in Cairo are poised to vote on restoring Syria’s membership to the organization after it was suspended over a decade ago. The meeting in the Egyptian capital Sunday took place ahead of the Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia on May 19, where many expect to see a partial or full return of Syria following a rapid rapprochement with regional governments since February. Syria’s membership in the Arab League was suspended 12 years ago, early in the uprising. It turned into a conflict, which has killed nearly a half million people since March 2011 and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.