At least 28 civilians were killed yesterday by regime forces in the central city of Hama, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said the EU's 27 foreign ministers approved the new set of sanctions — the 14th in the past year — "because of deep concern about the situation and continuing violence in spite of the ceasefire."
Previous rounds of US and EU sanctions have done little to stop the bloodshed, although there are signs the Syrian economy is suffering. International measures against President Bashar Assad's regime have depleted its foreign currency reserves by half, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said last week.
EU experts will work out later precisely which goods will be included in the new embargo. One of the diplomats said so-called "dual-use" goods can include anything from vehicles to fertilizers and other chemicals.
The only precedent in international relations for the luxury ban is one imposed by the EU in 2007 on North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Officials said this could serve as a model for the same measure against Syria. That ban included foods such as caviar and truffles, high-quality wines and spirits, fashion accessories including bags and shoes, perfumes, crystal and silverware, and purebred horses.
The ban on luxury items appears to take direct aim at some of Assad's most loyal supporters: the business community and prosperous merchant classes that are key to propping up the regime. An influential bloc, the business leaders have long traded political freedoms for economic privileges in Syria. So far, the wealthy classes have stuck to the sidelines, but if the economic squeeze reaches them, it could be a game changer, analysts say.
Assad, who inherited power in 2000, spent years shifting the country away from the socialism espoused by his father. In the process, he helped boost a new and vibrant merchant class that transformed Syria's economic landscape even as the regime's political trappings remained unchanged.
The UN estimates that more than 9,000 people have been killed since an uprising against the government of Assad began in Syria a year ago.
The world body has sent an advance eight-person observer team to Syria to support a plan by international envoy Kofi Annan to end the country's 13-month crisis. The U.N. has authorized a mission of 300 observers. "We need to continue to intensify pressure on the Assad regime," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said. "They are not in complete compliance with the cease-fire provisions of the Annan plan."
The fresh casualties came as UN monitors were deployed in the country in a bid to implement a fragile cease-fire that went into effect on April 12. Chanting crowds of anti-regime protesters in rebellious Damascus suburbs welcomed United Nations observers monitoring Syria's shaky cease-fire yesterday.
Also yesterday, a Jordanian relief agency said Syrian troops ambushed hundreds of people fleeing the country over the weekend, and dozens of them crossed the border into Jordan with burns and gunshot wounds. The Kitab and Sunna charity said Syrian forces detained dozens of people, including about 50 women.
Anti-regime activists often accuse the government of targeting those fleeing the country. The UN has sent an advance team of eight observers to Syria as part of international envoy Kofi Annan's plan to end the fighting between Assad's forces and those seeking to overthrow his regime. More monitors are due to arrive in the coming days, and the UN has authorized a mission of 300 total observers, though it remains unclear when the full contingent will arrive. Activists said the observer team visited the mountain town of Zabadani, about 30 km northwest of the capital Damascus, and a spokesman for the team, Neeraj Singh, said they were also touring the suburbs of Douma and Harasta.
All three areas have seen frequent anti-government protests and fierce regime crackdowns. Government troops shelled Douma on Sunday, activists said.
