Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Barack Obama of the United States demanded Thursday that Syria respect the terms of a peace plan drawn up by a U.N. envoy and the Arab League.

The French presidency announced the joint call in a statement after the leaders held videophone talks on a series of world crises, and warned that Bashar al-Assad's regime would be "judged on its actions".

The U.N. Security Council could pass a resolution on Friday to allow unarmed observers to go to Syria next week to monitor the fragile ceasefire, diplomats said.

An advanced mission of 20-30 observers could be in place early next week, diplomats said. The full mission would be at least 200 monitors.

Yemen's army raided al-Qaida positions in the southern province of Abyan on Thursday, killing eight militants as battles between Islamists and civilians killed another two, local sources said.

"The Yemeni air force carried out four raids on al-Qaida positions" on the outskirts of Loder killing eight militants in al-Ain, on the town's southern entrance, said one armed civilian.

U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said Thursday that a ceasefire in Syria appears to be holding but President Bashar al-Assad must carry out all parts of an agreed peace plan, as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said plans were being made to send an observer team to Syria as soon as possible.

"Syria is apparently experiencing a rare moment of calm on the ground," Annan said in a statement released as he briefed the U.N. Security Council on the 13-month-old crisis in which the U.N. says more than 9,000 people have been killed.

An Israeli group on Thursday called for the arrest and trial of hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists who are expected to arrive at Ben Gurion airport as part of a solidarity campaign this weekend.

Between Saturday evening and Sunday, hundreds of activists, mainly from European countries, are expected to land at Israel's main international airport as part of a campaign called "Welcome to Palestine."

The United Arab Emirates recalled its envoy to Tehran on Thursday, state news agency WAM reported, after having protested over a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a disputed island.

"The foreign ministry has recalled its ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Saif Mohammed Abid al-Zaabi, for consultations," it said.

Syria's government on Thursday offered an amnesty to opposition gunmen without "blood on their hands," urging them to surrender as a U.N.-backed ceasefire entered into force.

"The interior ministry calls on gunmen whose hands have not been stained with Syrian blood to hand themselves in, along with their weapons, at the nearest police center. They would be released and all legal procedures against them would be terminated," it said, quoted by state television.

A battle between Al-Qaida militants and armed civilians for control of the town of Loder spread on Thursday to nearby Mudia, as the death toll from four days of clashes reached 177, local sources said.

The armed men attacked a vehicle outside Mudia carrying Al-Qaida militants from nearby Shabwa province to Loder, the scene of fighting between Islamists and the army backed by armed civilians, the sources told Agence France Presse.

Kuwait's parliament on Thursday provisionally passed amendments to the Gulf state's penal code stipulating the death penalty for those who curse God, Islam's Prophet Mohammed or his wives.

Forty-six MPs, including cabinet ministers, voted for the key amendments that will come into effect only after another round of voting and government approval. The second and final vote will take place in two weeks.

Russia called for more time on Thursday for international envoy Kofi Annan's Syrian peace plan to work, as a ceasefire to end months of violence came into force with no major reports of violations.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said some Arab and Western states had written off Annan's peace plan as a failure even before it had gone into effect and called on them to use their influence with the rebels to avoid future unrest.