Saturday, Aug 20, 2011


   (From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) 
   By Nour Malas In Dubai and Frances Robinson In Brussels

The European Union agreed on Friday to broaden sanctions on Syria's regime and penalize its backers, advancing an international effort to target the regime's finances, as security forces continued to crack down on protesters.

The move came a day after the EU and the U.S. made the first unified call for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, and outlined a campaign to force him from power.

Thousands of demonstrators across Syria were met Friday with tightened security in major cities and shootings on crowds of protesters, activists said, appearing to confirm the expectations of U.S. and European officials that Mr. Assad won't bow to foreign pressure.

Threatening to further pressure Syria's government by targeting a key revenue source, the EU agreed in a meeting Friday to embargo imports of Syrian crude oil. The bloc also agreed to suspend technical assistance to Syria from the European Investment Bank and impose asset freezes and travel bans on people "benefiting from or supporting the regime's policies."

Syria has limited business dealings with the U.S. due to Washington's trade sanctions. But the EU is Syria's largest trade partner and biggest buyer of crude oil, so the embargo could be a major blow to the regime's finances. The EU said it reached a deal to broaden sanctions on the regime "while minimizing potential negative impacts on the Syrian people."

The EU also agreed to extend sanctions on 20 more Syrian individuals and entities.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton said the proposals will be discussed again by member states early next week.

As the European officials met, at least 22 people were killed during protests in Syria, according to activist groups.

But heavy shooting by security forces -- after nearly three weeks of the harshest and widest military campaign on restive cities -- didn't amount to the violent backlash that activists feared following Thursday's action by the U.S. and EU.

There were no reports of tank shelling, and the military over the past three days has appeared to withdraw at least some tanks and armored personnel carriers from the city centers it has occupied since the start of August, said residents and activists.

Mr. Assad appeared to rely instead on his security forces to pre-empt and disperse protests. Protesters in the southern town of Inkhil in Deraa province said forces tried to seal off mosques to prevent gatherings after Friday's noontime prayer.

Activists reported snipers lining up on rooftops in Zabadani, a town some 25 miles northwest of Damascus, to intimidate people into staying home.

"If the president steps down but the security apparatus stays in place, what would we have achieved?" said Mohammad Saleh, a former political prisoner in Homs, who is a member of Mr. Assad's minority Alawite sect. "That is our problem now -- we want change, a state that leads the security, not security forces that lead the state."

Meanwhile, Syria's opposition tried to capitalize the international push to dislodge Mr. Assad from power by announcing a coalition of grass-roots activist groups to plan a political transition after Mr. Assad. Separately, a group of activists from Syria's more traditional opposition groups plan to announce a "national council" of technocrats and intellectuals on Saturday.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

20-08-11 0706GMT