Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's president, has announced that Egypt is cutting off diplomatic relations with Syria and has ordered that Damascus Embassy in Cairo to be closed.

Morsi told thousands of supporters in a rally held on Saturday that his government is also withdrawing the Egyptian charge d'affaires from Damascus.

Morsi also called on Lebanon's Hezbollah armed group to leave Syria, where the group has been fighting alongside troops loyal to embattled President Bashar al-Assad against the rebel forces.

"We stand against Hezbollah in its aggression against the Syrian people," Morsi said. "Hezbollah must leave Syria - these are serious words. There is no space or place for Hezbollah in Syria."

The Egyptian president also called on the international community to implement a no-fly zone over Syria, where the UN says that more tha 93,000 people have been killed since a popular uprising escalated into civil war more than two years ago.

Aljazeera