AMMAN: Syrian security forces killed 27 protesters Friday demanding an end to President Bashar Al-Assad's rule, rights campaigners said, and the European Union agreed to impose sanctions in response to his crackdown. Activists and witnesses said demonstrations broke out after the main Friday prayers in cities across the country of 20 million people, from Banias on the Mediterranean coast to Qamishly in the Kurdish east. The bloodiest confrontation took place in the city of Homs where 15 protesters were killed, activist Ammar Qurabi said. State television said an army officer and four police were killed in Homs by a “criminal gang”, though another activist, Wissam Tarif, said witnesses told him nine soldiers defected in Homs to the protesters and may have clashed with other troops. Four protesters were also killed in Deir Al-Zor, said a local tribal leader from the region which produces most of Syria's 380,000 barrels per day of oil. They were the first deaths reported there in seven weeks of nationwide unrest. International criticism has mounted against Assad, who has gone on the offensive to maintain his family's four-decade grip on power and crush demonstrators demanding freedom. European Union governments agreed to impose asset freezes and travel restrictions against up to 14 officials responsible for the violent repression, which rights campaigners say has killed more than 580 people. Assad himself was not among those immediately targeted under the sanctions, which follow last week's EU agreement in principle to impose an arms embargo on Syria. The measures will be approved on Monday if no member state objects. Despite the harsh crackdown, protesters appear determined to maintain demands for an end to years of repression, arrests without trial and corruption by the ruling elite. Authorities said Thursday the army had begun to leave Deraa, but residents described a city still under siege. “With our soul and blood, we will sacrifice for you, Deraa”, chanted 20,000 protesters in nearby Jassem. Thousands more converged on the town of Tafas, 12 km northwest of Deraa, which remains encircled by tanks, carrying placards with the word “leave”. Human Rights Watch cited figures from Syrian groups saying 350 people had been killed there.
