State media reported "agreement regarding a final document on the situation in Syria," without giving details, saying an official announcement would be made at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on November 2.

But a senior Arab League official said the organization was still awaiting a response from Damascus to proposals for halting the bloodshed, which activists said continued on November 1 with two civilians shot dead by Assad's forces in Homs and two soldiers killed by army deserters in an ambush.

The United Nations says more than 3,000 people have been killed in Assad's crackdown on an uprising which erupted in March against his rule, inspired by revolutions which have toppled three Arab leaders this year.

The US, which has imposed sanctions on Syria's oil industry and key state businesses in response to Assad's crackdown, said that if Syria's accepted and implemented the Arab League's proposals it would be "very welcome."

Syrian authorities blame militants who it says are armed and financed from abroad for the violence, saying they have killed 1,100 members of the security forces.