At least 26 protesters killed by Assad, EU imposes sanctions on 13 Syrian officials

Syrian security forces killed at least 26 on Friday, most of them in the central city of Homs, a rights group said, as thousands rallied on a “Day of Defiance” against the autocratic regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Meanwhile, armed gangs killed one officer and four policemen, state news agency SANA reported.

The Syrian rights group, Insan, put the day’s toll at 26 killed but said it expected this to rise.

“Death toll for today is 26,” Insan said in a statement received by Agence-France Presse in Nicosia. The toll included 16 protesters killed in the central city of Homs, six in Hama north of Damascus and two in the Mediterranean town of Jableh.

“We have a list of 27 more names. We are verifying at the moment,” the brief statement said.

Rights activist Ammar Qurabi earlier said at least 21 were killed when security forces of President Assad fired live ammunition at pro-democracy protesters in Tel, a community just north of the capital city of Damascus.

In Brussels, the European Union agreed to impose sanctions on 13 Syrian officials involved in the regime’s brutal crackdown on protests. The EU will meet again on Monday to discuss whether to target Mr. Assad as well, diplomats said.

Mr. Assad’s troops moved into central Syria and coastal areas in a test of will for demonstrators determined to maintain protests against the autocratic rule of President Assad. Thousands of people joined protests on Friday after prayers in cities all across Syria.

In a show of force, tanks took up positions near the urban centers of Homs, Rastan and Banias in the last two days. Troops were also deployed in the Damascus suburbs of Erbin, Saqba, and Douma and in the town of Tel, north of the capital.

Meanwhile, the United States and Italy called for an immediate end to the crackdown in Syria, and warned about the rising influence of Iran amid the multiple crises shaking the Arab world.

“The Syrian government must immediately stop the violence and resume a path of dialogue with those who want reform,” Foreign Minister Franco Frattini of Italy said at a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Rome.

He also said: “We share a concern over Iran's rising presence in the region... Iran is very active and is taking advantage of these crises.”

Secretary Clinton said she supported planned European Union sanctions on Syria and spoke of her “deep concern about the alarming situation in Syria.”

The US imposed sanctions on Syria last week and Europe has an arms embargo in place. Mr. Frattini said additional European sanctions should include travel bans and a suspension of EU talks with Syria on an association agreement.

A senior diplomat said that demonstrations after Friday prayers constitute the only chance Syrians have to gather legally. He said that these demonstrations were expected to increase “incrementally, not massively” in numbers compared with a week ago when tens of thousands took to the streets, according to Reuters. He did not anticipate that Friday’s crowds were indeed massive.

Kurds in Syria’s eastern region also protested on Friday. They demanded political freedom, but said they nevertheless wanted national unity.

The Obama administration has defended itself against charges in Congress it has been too soft with the Syrian government over its deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

Senior State Department official Michael Posner dismissed a lawmaker’s suggestion that Washington take a tougher stand by withdrawing its ambassador from Damascus, saying the envoy acted as a key defender of Syrians’ rights, according to Agence-France Presse.

Before the current unrest hit Syria, Robert Ford arrived in Damascus in January 2011 as the first US ambassador to Syria in five years, the fruit of the Obama administration’s new policy to engage a longtime foe.

The unrest gripping Syria comes as President Obama pursues a new US policy of engaging with a former foe in a bid to promote a broader Arab-Israeli peace by driving a wedge between Syria and its ally Iran.

Analysts said early last month that the administration might be hedging its bets because it will still have to deal with the regime if President Bashar al-Assad and his powerful security forces end up crushing the unrest, according to AFP.

A Syrian opposition figure told Reuters: “The international response is intensifying. But President Assad will spill more Syrian blood before the world wakes up.”

Human rights campaigners say army, security forces and gunmen loyal to Mr. Assad had killed at least 560 civilians during seven weeks of pro-democracy demonstrations. Thousands of people had been arrested and beaten, including the elderly, women and children, they said.

The authorities blame “armed terrorist groups” for the violence, including the killings of civilians and members of the security forces.

President Assad, 46, said the protesters were part of a foreign conspiracy to cause sectarian strife in the country of 23 million people.

His father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, used similar language when he crushed Islamist and secular challenges to his rule in the 1980s, culminating in the violent suppression of an uprising in the city of Hama in which 30,000 people were killed.

The late president lost two wars to Israel, as defense minister in 1967 and as president in 1973. He maintained Syria’s position as a relevant player in Middle East geopolitics by building ties with Shiite Iran and backing Palestinian guerrilla forces.

The younger Mr. Assad has reinforced the anti-Israeli alliance with Tehran, despite disquiet on the part of Syria’s majority Sunni population.

Last week, Mr. Assad ordered the army into Deraa, cradle of the uprising that began with demands for greater freedom and an end to corruption and is now pressing for his removal.

An ultra-loyalist division led by his brother Maher shelled and machine-gunned Deraa’s old quarter on Saturday. Syrian authorities said on Thursday the army had begun to leave Deraa, but residents described a city still under siege.

Human rights campaigners say security forces killed at least 62 civilians, including 17 in Rastan alone, during those protests.

A doctor who planned to take part in Friday’s demonstrations said, “indiscriminate killings and inhumane arrests have generated total disgust among the average Syrian.”

“Soldiers with rifles no longer deter people. The propaganda that this regime is the only guarantor of stability no longer washes,” he said.

The United States, which had joined a European drive to improve ties with Mr. Assad under President Barack Obama’s administration, called the attack on Deraa “barbaric.”

Diplomats said the European Union could reach a preliminary agreement on imposing sanctions on Syria’s ruling hierarchy on Friday, but had yet to decide whether President Assad should be included.

Iran, which the United States accused of helping President Assad in his efforts to crush the demonstrators, said Syria’s rulers were aware of plots by the US and Israel to destabilize its only Arab ally.

(Mustapha Ajbaili of Al Arabiya