At least 32 people were killed and scores wounded in Syria on Friday as army and police forces opened fire on anti-government protesters, activists said. The majority of the deaths were reported to be in the southern Deraa province.
Meanwhile, the European Union is planning to slap new economic sanctions against Syria, including an embargo on oil imports, a senior official said Friday. An EU oil embargo would bring the 27-nation bloc in line with the latest American moves to isolate the regime of President Bashar Assad, including a ban on the import of Syrian petroleum or related products. Germany, France and Italy are the leading EU consumers of the Syrian oil.
In addition to a ban on imports of Syrian oil, a further measure would be the withdrawal of all technical assistance for various projects in Syria by the European Investment Bank.
