US eyes possible sanctions on Syrian officials

WASHINGTON: The United States is considering targeted sanctions against Syrian officials to respond to "completely deplorable" violence used by Damascus's forces to crush dissent, an official said Monday.

Signs of a more muscular US response to violence in Syria followed an assault by Syrian troops backed by tanks in the flashpoint town of Daraa, which killed at least 25 people, as a building crackdown reached new heights.

"The brutal violence used by the government of Syria against its people is completely deplorable and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms," said National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor.

"The United States is pursuing a range of possible policy options, including targeted sanctions, to respond to the crackdown and make clear that this behavior is unacceptable.

"The Syrian people's call for freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and the ability to freely choose their leaders must be heard."

Syrian troops also on Monday launched assaults on the Damascus suburbs of Douma and Al-Maadamiyeh, witnesses said.

Washington has come under increasing pressure for more biting action against the government of Bashar al-Assad, as protests widen in Syria and pose another challenge to the coherence of US policy as unrest rocks the Middle East. (AFP)