Protests have continued in cities across Syria despite the crackdown by security forces
A statement from King Abdullah said the violence was "unacceptable" and called for it to stop before it was too late.
It came hours after the Arab League issued its first official statement, strongly condemning the violence.
On Sunday, more than 80 people died as the army launched assaults in eastern and central Syria, activists said.
They said at least 50 died when soldiers, backed by scores of
tanks and armoured vehicles, stormed Deir al-Zour during the dawn call
to prayer.
A man living in the city told the BBC the tanks had been
withdrawn from the eastern city, but that residents feared they would
come back.
Twenty-six others were killed in Hula, near the city of Homs,
including a 10-year-old boy. Deaths were also reported in Idlib in the
north-west.
The Local Co-ordination Committees, an activist group that
documents and organises protests, said that after sunset, thousands of
protesters poured onto the streets in towns and cities, including
Damascus and its suburbs, Homs, Aleppo, and Latakia on the Mediterranean
coast.
Activists say at least 1,700 civilians have been killed and tens of thousands arrested since the uprising began in mid-March.
Access to Syria has been severely
restricted for international journalists and it is rarely possible to
verify accounts by witnesses and activists.
'Death machine'
In a major escalation in international pressure on President
Bashar al-Assad, King Abdullah declared on Sunday evening that his
country had taken an historic decision despite all the support it had
given Syria in the past.
"Any sane Arab, Muslim or anyone else knows that this has
nothing to do with religion, or ethics or morals; spilling the blood of
the innocent for any reasons or pretext leads to no path to... hope," he
said in a statement broadcast by the Saudi-owned satellite channel,
al-Arabiya.
"What is happening in Syria is not acceptable for Saudi
Arabia," he added. "There are only two options for Syria's future:
either it chooses wisdom on its own, or it will be pulled down into the
depths of chaos and loss."
"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia... demands an end to the death
machine and bloodshed and calls for acts of wisdom before it is too
late."
"Syria should think wisely before it is too late and issue
and enact reforms that are not merely promises but actual reforms," he
concluded.
BBC Middle East correspondent Jon Leyne says the statement
seems to be a co-ordinated move, following the Arab League's own
communique.
The 22-member league said it was "alarmed" by the situation in the country and called for an immediate end to the violence.
The six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) also issued
its first comments about the unrest on Saturday, condemning the
"excessive use of force" and calling for an "immediate end to the
violence".
King Abdullah sent Saudi troops in March to Bahrain as part
of a GCC force to help the country's Sunni monarchy crush
anti-government protests led by the Shia majority. Saudi officials also
criticised the decision to put Egypt's ousted president, Hosni Mubarak,
on trial.
Our correspondent says President Assad is now even more isolated.
A US state department official said the Saudi monarch's
statement was "another clear sign that the international community,
including Syria's neighbours, are repulsed by the brutal actions of the
Syrian government".
'Tough' messages
Diplomatic tension with neighbouring Turkey is also rising.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that
Ankara had "run out of patience" with President Assad's regime and that
it could no longer "remain a spectator" to events across its border.
He announced that he was sending Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to Damascus on Tuesday to deliver a "tough message".
But one of Mr Assad's top advisers said he would be given an even tougher message to take home.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke to President Assad by
telephone on Saturday, urging him to stop the use of military force
against protesters and to allow humanitarian missions into his country.
Last week the UN Security Council also called on the Syrian leader to stop the violence.
President Assad has insisted that his government is enacting
reforms. He blames the violence on "armed terrorist gangs" which he says
are backed by foreign powers.
"Syria is on the path to reform," he was quoted as telling
Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour by the state news agency, Sana.
"To deal with outlaws who cut off roads, seal towns and
terrorise residents is a duty of the state, which must defend security
and protect the lives of civilians," he added.
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