President Bashar Assad’s assault on protests continued, killing at least 14 people, activists said. Security forces fired on thousands of anti-government protesters and surrounded mosques to prevent worshippers from streaming into the streets to join the rallies.

The UN estimates some 2,200 people have been killed since March as protesters take to the streets every week, despite the near-certainty that they will face a barrage of bullets and sniper fire. But the regime is in no imminent danger of collapse, leading to concerns violence will escalate.

On Friday, Syrian protesters marched under the slogan “Death Rather Than Humiliation” — reflecting a growing frustration among activists that their largely peaceful gatherings have failed to crack the regime.

Recent weeks have seen a subtle change in tone among some protesters who are calling on Syrians to take up arms and inviting foreign military action like the intervention that helped topple the Libyan government.

The EU oil ban follows other international sanctions and worldwide reproach, although Assad has brushed off the condemnation as foreign meddling. The oil embargo is significant because Damascus gets about 28 percent of its revenue from the oil trade and sells fuel to France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

Syria exports some 150,000 barrels of oil per day, with the vast majority going to the European Union.

European Union trade spokesman, John Clancy, said Syria earned 3.1 billion euros ($4.4 billion) by selling oil to the EU in 2010. Oil from Syria amounted to 1.5 percent of EU’s total crude oil imports that year.

“The impact of the ban in terms of EU oil supply is very minimal, but the impact on the financing of the Syrian regime is quite substantial,” Clancy told said.

Without that revenue, Syria will likely burn far more quickly through the $17 billion in foreign reserves it had at the start of the uprising. Still, some analysts believe Syria is getting financial assistance from Iran, which would cushion the EU blow.

“There is little evidence to suggest that sanctions will be enough to end the violence and force sincere political reform,” according to a briefing this week by Maplecroft, a British-based risk analysis company.

“Although the EU embargo could hit the regime hard ... Assad will continue to rely on financial support from Iran,” the briefing said.

Asia also could present a new market for oil as China has close ties to Damascus.

In addition to the oil ban, four more Syrian individuals and three entities were added to a list of those facing an EU asset freeze and travel ban.

The EU oil embargo will bring the 27-nation bloc in line with the latest US moves to isolate Assad’s regime, including a ban on the import of petroleum or related products. The embargo takes effect on Saturday, but existing contracts can be fulfilled until Nov. 15.

Also Friday, Syrian troops fanned out in cities including Homs in central Syria, Daraa in the south and the eastern city of Deir El-Zour, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Syria has banned foreign journalists and restricted local coverage, making it difficult to independently confirm events on the ground. The daily death toll may be much higher than what is reported if the version of Syrians given to their relatives living abroad is to be believed.

Witnesses and activists said the largest turnout Friday was in Homs, where a funeral turned into a massive anti-government demonstration. Thousands of people were taking part, calling for the regime’s downfall and for Assad’s execution, activists said. Most of Friday’s 14 deaths were in the Damascus suburb of Arbeen and nearby areas.