Arab League officials say Arab foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting to discuss whether to suspend Syria from the organization to pressure Damascus to end the deadly crackdown on anti-government demonstrators.

The officials say Sunday's meeting in Cairo comes in response to the Syrian government's failure to stop killing protesters.

Several Gulf countries requested the meeting. Many of the Gulf states have pulled their ambassadors out of Syria to protest the regime's crackdown, which the U.N. says has killed more than 3,000 people.

One official says the Arab League will consider other measures if suspending Syria fails to prompt the regime to stop the bloodshed. He declined to elaborate.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.