DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday appointed a new defence minister, state television reported, amid mounting Arab condemnation of nearly five months of deadly crackdown on dissent.

“President Assad has signed a decree naming General Daood Rajha as the head of the defence ministry,” the television report said.

The 64-year-old Rajha, who was the army's chief of staff, replaces General Ali Habib who had been defence minister since 2009.

State television said Assad had decided to remove Habib and replace him with Rajha in line with decisions he took after meetings residents of protest cities to make changes in top state positions.

But the report also said that Habib “has been ill for some time and his condition has deteriorated.” In April, less than a month after the start of pro-democracy protests in Syria, Assad ordered the formation of a new government after former premier Mohammed Naji Otri resigned on March 29.

Since the protests broke out in mid-March, the president has sacked several governors, namely from flashpoint provinces such as Homs and Hama in the centre, and Deir Ezzor in the east.

Assad's latest decision comes as oil kingpin Saudi Arabia and two other members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council recalled their ambassadors from Syria for consultations and condemned the violence.

The head of Al-Azhar, the top Sunni Muslim authority, also denounced the bloodshed from Cairo and urged the Syrian authorities to put an immediate end to the “tragedy” of the bloodletting.

The Cairo-based Arab League on Sunday issued its first formal statement on Syria with Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi calling for an “impartial probe”into the bloodshed, and warning against “chaos” and “religious strife.”