The move by the world's biggest Muslim grouping came afterdozens of people, including women and children, were reported killed in an airstrike on a rebel bastion in northern Syria, while a bomb attack and afirefight rocked Damascus.
UN investigators also said Syrian forces had committedcrimes against humanity, including the Houla massacre in May that shocked theworld, during an escalating conflict that has killed thousands and sent manymore fleeing.
Violence continues to rage in many parts of the country,including the northern battleground of Aleppo, with bitterly divided worldpowers in deadlock over how to end a conflict that could threaten the entireregion.
The UN Security Council meets today to formally end itsobserver mission in Syria, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon struggles to persuadeAlgerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi to become the new international envoy on theconflict.
An emergency OIC summit in the Saudi holy city of Mecca saidit had agreed to suspend Syria because of "deep concern at the massacresand inhuman acts suffered by the Syrian people".
OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said the decision sent"a strong message from the Muslim world to the Syrian regime" ofPresident Bashar al-Assad.
"This world can no longer accept a regime thatmassacres its people using planes, tanks and heavy artillery."
The United States and the opposition Syrian National Councilwelcomed the move.
"Today's action underscores the Assad regime'sincreasing international isolation and the widespread support for the Syrianpeople and their struggle for a democratic state that represents theiraspirations and respects their human rights," State Department spokeswomanVictoria Nuland said.
