Several diplomats posted in Syria attended the funeral of activist Ghiyath Matar in Daraya, outside Damascus, on Wednesday (September 14th), Al Jazeera English reported.

Ambassadors from Japan, France and other countries were present as Matar was laid to rest. Matar was arrested earlier this year and reportedly died in official custody. Matar was one of the organisers of anti-government protests. A Japanese Embassy spokesperson in Damascus said the ambassador attended the funeral to express condolences to the family.

On Tuesday, the Arab League urged "immediate change" in Syria, saying in a statement that "the Syrian leadership must take urgent steps to implement the measure it agreed upon during the visit of the Secretary General [Nabil al-Araby]."

Following the Arab League meeting in Cairo, the Emir of Qatar Hamad al-Thani said, "We cannot accept this killing machine." The Syrian army "must withdraw from inside the cities so that we can start talking about a dialogue between the people and the government", he said.

Syrian security forces carried out searches and arrests in Deir al-Zor province, the village of Houla in Homs province and other towns, the Syrian Human Rights Observatory said in a statement.